LIBRARy_OF CONGRESS.^ 






— -^~m 

UNITED STATES OF AME 



/ .4 I k S^ 



POPULAR WORKS 



lyHpiHin llillari mh^ 



The Soldier- Author, 



I. Soldiers of the Saddle. 
I', Capture, Prison-Pen, and Escape, 
in. Battles for the Union. 
IV. Heroes of Three Wars. 

V. Peculiarities of American Cities. 

VI. Down the Great River. 

Captain Glazier's works are growing more and more 
popular every day. Tlu-ir deline.ations of military life, 
constantly varying scenes, and deeply interesting stories, 
combine to place their w ritcr in the front rank of Amer- 
ican authorii. 



BOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION. 

PIRSONS DESIRING AGENCIES FOR ANY OF CAPTAIN GLAZIER'S 
BOOKS SHOULD ADDRESS 

THE i=-U-BX.IS£3:EI^,S. 

I & 




I 




PREFACE. 



No apology will be required from the author for pre- 
seuting to the public some episodes iu the useful career of 
a self-made man ; and while the spirit of patriotism con- 
tinues to animate the sturdy sons of America, the story of 
one of them who has exemplified this national trait in a 
conspicuous measure, will be deemed not unworthy of 
record. The lessons it teaches, more especially to the 
young, are those of uncompromising duty in every relation 
of life — self-denial, perseverance and " pluck ; " while the 
successive stages of a course which led ultimately to a bril- 
liant success, may be studied with some advantage by those 
just entering upon the business of life. As a soldier, 
Willard Glazier was " without fear and without reproach." 
As an author, it is sufficient to say, he is appreciated by 
his contemporaries — than which, on a literary man, no 
higher encomium can be passed. The sale of nearly half 
a million copies of one of his productions is no slight tes- 
timonial to its value. 

Biography, to be interesting, must be a transcript of an 
eventful, as well as a remarkable career ; and to be in- 
structive, its subject should be exemplary in his aims, and 
in his mode of attaining them. The hero of this story 
comes fully up to the standard thus indicated. His career 
has been a romance. Born of parents of small means but 
of excellent character and repute ; and bred and nurtured 
in the midst of some of the wildest and grandest scenery 

(v) 



vi PREFACE. 

in the rugged county of St. Lawrence, close by the 
" Thousand Isles," where New York best proves her right 
to be called the Empire State through the stamp of royalty 
on her hills and streams — under the shadow of such sur- 
roundings as these, my subject attained maturity, with no 
opportunities for culture except those he made for himself. 
Yet he became possessed of an education eminently useful, 
essentially practical and calculated to establish just such 
habits of self-reliance and decision as afterwards proved 
chiefly instrumental in his success. Glazier had a fixed 
ambition to rise. He felt that the task would be difficult 
of accomplishment — that he must be not only the architect, 
but the builder of his own fortunes; and, as the statue 
grows beneath the sculptor's hand to perfect contour from 
the unshapely block of marble, so prosperity came to Captain 
Glazier only after he had cut and chiseled away at the 
hard surface of inexorable circn/ustance, and moulded 
therefrom the statue of his destiny. 

J. A. O. 
Philadelphia, June lAth^ 1880. 



iiU0i[(l mu\ mn; 



Vektures and Adventures 



WILLARD GLAZIER, 



(The Soldier-Author,) 



COMPRISING 

INCIDENTS AND REMINISCENCES OF HIS CHILDHOOD; HIS 
CHEQUERED LIFE AS A STUDENT AND TEACHER ; AND HIS 
REMARKABLE CAREER AS A SOLDIER AND AUTHOR; 
EMBRACING ALSO THE STORY OF HIS UNPRE- 
CEDENTED JOURNEY FROM OCEAN TO OCEAN 
ON HORSEBACK; AND AN ACCOUNT OF HIS 
DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE 
MISSISSIPPI RIVER, AND CANOE 
VOYAGE FROM THENCE TO THE 
GULF OF MEXICO. 



/^^y 



BY 



JOHN ALGERNON OWENS^ 

\lMxm APR e 180-^' 




0*:^' 



P, W. ZIEGLER & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 

915 ARCH STREET. 

1883. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, iu the jear 1880, by '^ 

JOHN ALGERNON OWENS, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C 



TO 

ULYSSES SiMPSON GRANT. 

NA^HOSE SWORD, 

AND TO 

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, 

WHOSE PEN, 

?5ai)f BO Nobig JtUusstratrti tljc (Genius anU Falor of tf)fir Countrg 

THE AUTHOR, 

Ik a Spikit of Profound Admiration for 
THE RENOWNED SOLDIER, 

And of Measureless Gratitude to 
THE IMMORTAL WRITER, 

MtiiUciUs Ql^tjis Book. 



Contents. 



CHAPTER I. 

ORIGIN OF THE GLAZIER FAMILY. 

Lineage of Willard Glazier. — A good stock. — Oliver Glazier at 
the Battle of Bunker Hill. — The home of honest industry. — 
The Coronet of Pembroke. — The "Homestead Farm." — Mehi- 
table Bolton. — Her New England home. — Her marriage to 
Ward Glazier.— The wild " North Woods."— The mother of the 
soldier-author 21 

CHAPTER II. 

BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD OF WILLARD GLAZIER. 

The infant stranger. — A mother's prayers. — " Be just before you 
are generous." — Careful training. — Willard Glazier's first bat- 
tle. — A narrow escape. — Facing the foe. — The " happy days of 
childhood." — " The boy is father to the man " . .27 

CHAPTER III. 

EARLY LIFE AND HABITS. 

Scotch-Irish Presbyterian isra of twenty-five years ago. — The " little 
deacon." — First days at school. — Choosing a wife. — A youthful 
gallant. — A close scholar but a wild lad. — A mother's influence. 
— Ward Glazier a Grahamite.— Young Willard's practical jokes. 
— Anecdote of Crystal Spring. — "That is something like 
water" . , \ . . . . . . . 34 

CHAPTER IV. 

WILLARD GLAZIER AT SCHOOL, 

School-days continued. — Boys will be boys. — Cornelius Carter, the 
. teacher."^ — Young Willard's rebellion against injustice. — Gum- 
chewing. — Laughable race through the snow. — The tumble into 
a snow-bank, and what came of it. — The runaway caught. — 
Explanation and reconciliation. — The new master, James Nichols. 
— "Spare the rod and spoil the child."— The age of chivalry 
not gone. — Magnanimity of a school-boy. — Friendship between 
Willard and Henry Abbott. — Good-bve to the " little deacon " 42 

(is) 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

ECCENTRICITIES OF HENRY GLAZIER. 

Henry Glazier. — A singular character. — " Kaw-shaw-gan-ce " and 
" Quaw-taw-pee-ah." — Tom Lolar and Henry Glazier. — Attrac- 
tive show-bills. — Billy Muldoon and his trombone. — Behind the 
scenes. — " Sound your G ! " — The mysterious musician. — What 
happened to Billy. — " May the divil fly away wid ye I " . 50 

CHAPTER VI. 

VISIONS OF THE FUTURE. 

The big uncle and the little nephew. — Exchange of ideas between 
the eccentric Henry Glazier and young Willard. — Inseparable 
companions. — Willard's early reading. — Favorite authors. — 
Hero-worship of the first Kapoleon and Charles XII. of 
Sweden. — The genius of good and of evil. — Allen Wight. — A 
born teacher. — Reverses of fortune. — The shadow on the home. 
— Willard's resolve to seek his fortune and what came of 
it. — The sleep under the trees. — The prodigal's return. — "All's 
well that ends well " 58 

CHAPTER VII. 

WILLARD GLAZIER AT HOME. 

Out of boyhood. — Days of adolescence. — True family pride. — 
Schemes for the future. — Willard as a temperance advocate. — 
Watering his grandfather's whiskey. — The pump behind the hill. 
— The sleigh-ride by night. — The " shakedown " at Edward's. 
— Intoxicated by tobacco fumes. — The return ride. — Landed in a 
snow-bank. — Good-bye horses and sleigh ! — Plodding through the 
snow . 68 

CHAPTER VIII. 

ADVENTURES — EQUINE AND BOVINE. 

Ward Glazier moves to the Davis Place. — " Far in the lane a 
lonely house he found." — Who was Davis? — Description of the 
place. — A wild spot for a home. — Willard at work. — Adventure 
with an ox-team. — The road, the bridge and the stream. — "As an 
ox thirsteth for the water." — Dashed from a precipice! — Wil- 
lard as a horse-tamer. — " Chestnut Bess," the blooded mare. — 
The start for home. — " Bess " on the rampage. — A lightning dash. 
—The stooping arch. — Br\iised and unconscious . . 75 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE YOUNG TRAPPER OF THE OSWEGATCHIE. 

A plan of life. — Determination to procure an education. — A sub- 



CONTENTS. xi 

stitute at the plow. — His father acquiesces in his determination 
to become a trapper. — Life in the wild woods along the Oswegat- 
chie. — The six " dead falls." — First success. — A fallacious calcu- 
lation. — The goal attained. — Seventy-tive dollars in hard cash !— 
Four terms of academic life. — The youthful rivals.— Lessons in 
elocution. — A fight with hair-brushes and chairs !— -" The walk- 
ing ghost of a kitchen fire." — Kenewed friendship. — Teaching 
to obtain means for an education 87 

CHAPTER X. 

THE SOLDIER SCHOOL-MASTER. 

From boy to man. — The Lyceum debate. — Willard speaks for the 
slave. — Entrance to the State Normal School. — Eeverses. 
— Fighting the world again. — Assistance from fair hands. 
— Willard meets Allen Barringer. — John Brown, and what 
Willard thought of him. — Principles above bribe. — Exami- 
nation. — A sleepless night. — Haunted by the "ghost of possi- 
ble defeat." — " Here is your certificate." — The school at 
Schodack Centre. — At the "Normal" again. — The Ed- 
wards School. — Thirty pupils at two dollars each. — The ''sol- 
dier school-master." — Teachers at East Schodack. — The runa- 
way ride. — Good-bv, mittens, robes and whip ! — Close of school 
at East Schodack * 102 

CHAPTER XI. 

INTRODUCTION TO MILITARY LIFE. 

The mutterings of war. — Enlistment. — At Camp Howe. — First 
experience as a soldier. — "One step to the front!" — Beyond 
Washington. — On guard. — Promotion. — Recruiting service. — 
The deserted home on Arlington Heights. — " How shall I be- 
have in the coming battle?" — The brave Bayard. — On the 
march. — The stratagem at Falmouth Heights. — A brilliant 
charge.— After the battle 118 

CHAPTER XH. 

FIRST BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION. 

The sentinel's lonely round.— General Pope in command of the 
army. — Is gunboat service effective ? — First cavalry battle of 
Brandy Station. — Under a rain of bullets. — Flipper's orchard. — 
" Bring on the brigade, boys!" — Capture of Confederate prison- 
ers. — Story of a revolver. — Cedar Mountain. — Burial of the dead 
rebel. — Retreat from the Rapidan. — The riderless horse. — Death 
of Captain Walters 128 

CHAPTER XIIL 

MANASSAS AND FREDERICKSBURG. 

Manassas. — The flying troops. — The unknown hero. — Desperate at- 



xii CONTENTS. 

tempt to stop the retreat. — Eecruiting the decimated ranks.— 
Fredericksburg. — Bravery of Meagher's brigade. — The impreg- 
nable heights.— The cost of battles. — Death of Bayard. — Outline 
of his life *. . 135 

CHAPTER XIV. 

UNWRITTEN HISTORY. 

"What boots a weapon in a Avithered hand?" — A thunderbolt 
wasted. — War upon hen-roosts. — A bit of unpublished history. — 
A fierce fight with Hampton's cavalry. — In one red burial 
blent. — From camp to home. — Troubles never come singly. — The 
combat. — The capture. — A superfluity of Confederate politeness. 
— Lights and shadows 144 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE CAPTURE. 

A situation to try the stoutest hearts. — Hail Columbia ! — Every man 
a hero. — Kilpatrick's ingenuity. — A pen-picture from " Soldiers of 
the Saddle." — Glazier thanked by his general. — Cessation of lios- 
tilities. — A black day. — Fitzhugh Lee proposes to crush Kil- 
patrick. — Kil's audacity. — Capture of Lieutenant Glazier. — Petty 
tyranny. — '^ Here, Yank, hand me that thar hat, and overcoat, 
and boots " 155 

CHAPTER XVL 

LIBBY PRISON. 

"All ye who enter here abandon hope." — Auld lang syne. — Major 
Turner. — Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. — Stoicism. — 
Glazier enters the prison-hospital — A charnel-house. — Rebel 
Burgeons. — Prison correspondence. — Specimen of a regulation 
letter. — The tailor's joke. — A Roland for an Oliver. — News of 
death. — Schemes for escape. — The freemasonry of misfortune. — 
Plot and counter-plot. — The pursuit of pleasure under diffi- 
culties lOG 

CHAPTER XVIL 

PRISON LIFE. 

Mournful news. — How a brave man dies. — New Year's day.— 
Jolly under unfavorable circumstances. — Major Turner pays his 
res[)ects. — Punishment for singing " villainous Yankee songs." — 
Confederate General John Morgan. — Plans for escape. — Digging 
their way to freedom. — " Post No. 1, All's well." — Yankee 
ingenuity. — The tunnel ready. — Muscle the trump card. — No 
respect to rank. — Sauve qui peutf — A strategic movement. — 
" Guards ! guards ! " — Absentees from muster. — Disappointed 
hopes. — Savage treatment of prisoners, — Was the prison 
mined? . . = .179 



CONTENTS, xiil 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

DANVILLE. — MACON. — SAVANNA IT. 

Belle Boyd, the Confederate spy. — National characteristics. — Colonel 
Mosby. — Richmond to Danville. — Sleeping spoon-fashion. — Gla- 
zier's "corrective point" suffers. — Saltatory entrance to a rail- 
road car. — Colonel Joselyn. — Sympathy of North Carolinians.— 
Ingenious efforts to escape. — Augusta. — Macon. — Turner again ! — 
"Carelessness " with firearms. — Tunneling. — Religious revival. — 
Order from Confederate War Department. — Murder ! — Fourth 
of July. — Macon to Savannah. — Camp Davidson. — More tun- 
neling 194 

CHAPTER XIX. 

UNDER FIRE AT CHARLESTON. 

Under siege. — Charleston Jail. — The Stars and Stripes. — Federal 
compliments. — Under the guns. — Roper Hospital. — Yellow Jack. 
— Sisters of Charity. — RebeF Christianity. — A Byronie stanza.— 
Charleston to Columbia. — "Camp Sorghum." — Nemesis.— Another 
dash for liberty. — Murder of Lieutenants Young and Parker. — 
Studying topography. — A vaticination.— Back to reality . 206 

CHAPTER XX. 

THE ESCAPE FROM COLUMBIA. 

Mysterious voices. — "I reckon dey's Yankees." — "Who comes 
there?" — The Lady of the Manor. — A weird spectacle —The 
struggle through the swamp. — A reflection on Southern swamps 
in general, — Tired nature's sweet restorer . , . 221 

CHAPTER XXL 

LOYALTY OF THE NEGROES. 

Startled by hounds. — An unpleasant predicament. — A Christian 
gentlewoman.— Appeal to Mrs. Colonel Taylor.—" She did all she 
could." — A meal fit for the gods. — Aunt Katy. — " Lor' bress ye, 
marsters I " — Uncle Zeb's prayer. — Hoe-cake and pinders, — Wood- 
craft versm astronomy.— Canine foes. — Characteristics of the slave. 
— Meeting escaped prisoners. — Danger. — Retreat and conceal- 
ment 228 

CHAPTER XXIL 

PROGRESS OF THE FUGITIVES. 

Parting company. — Thirst and no water. — Hoping for the end. — 
The boy and the chicken. — Conversation of ladies overheard. — Tho 
fugitives pursued.— The sleeping village. — Captain Bryant.— The 



xvi CONTENTS. 

the journey. — Novel lecture tour. — Captain Frank M. Clark.- 
" Echoes from the Revolution." — Lecture at Tremont Temple. — 
Captain Theodore L. Kelly. — A success. — Proceeds of lecture. — 
Edward F. Rollins. — Extracts from first lecture. — Press no- 
tices 364 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

BOSTON TO CHICAGO. . 

In the saddle. — Bunker Hill. — Arrives in Albany. — Reminiscences. 
— The Soldiers' Home. — Contributions for erecting Soldiers' 
Home. — Reception at Rochester. — Buffalo. — Dunkirk. — Swan- 
ville. — Cleveland. — Massacre of General Custer. — Monroe. — 
Lectures for Custer Monument. — Father of General Custer. — 
Detroit. — Kalamazoo. — An adventure. — Gives "Paul Revere" 
a rest. — Decatur.^Niles. — Michigan City. — Chicago . 376 

CHAPTER XXXIIL 

CHICAGO TO OMAHA, 

Returns to Michigan City. — Joliet. — Thomas Babcock. — Herbert 
Glazier. — Ottawa. — La Salle. — Colonel Stevens. — Press Notice.^i — 
Taken for a highwayman. — Milan. — Davenport. — Press Notice. 
— Iowa City. — Des Moines. — Press Notice. — Attacked by prairie 
wolves. — Council Blufis. — Omaha 401 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

CAPTAIN GLAZIER CAPTURED BY INDIANa 

Captain Glazier as a horseman. — Cheyenne. — Two herders. — Cap- 
tured by Indians. — Torture and death of a herder. — Escape. — 
Ogden. — Letter to Major Hessler. — Kelton. — Terrace. — Wells. — 
Halleck. — Elko. — Palisade. — Argenta. — Battle Mountain.— Gol- 
conda. — Humboldt. — " The majesty of the law.'' — Lovelock's. — 
White Plains, — Desert. — Wadsworth. — Truckee. — Summit. — Sac- 
ramento.— Brighton.— Stockton.— San Francisco . . 410 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

RETURN FROM CALIFORNIA. 

Returns to the East by the " Iron Horse." — Boston Transcript on 
the journey on horseback. — Resumes literary work. — "Peculiari- 
ties of American Cities." — Preface to book. — A domestic incident. 
— A worthy son. — Claims of parents. — Purchases the Old Home- 
stead, and presents it to his father and mother. — Letter to his 
parents.— The end 431 



CONTENTS. xvn 

CHAPTER XXXVT. 

THE MlSSISSIPn RIVER. 

An interval of literary work. — Conception of another expedition. — 
Reflections upon the Old Explorers. — Indian rumors. — Deter- 
mined to find the true source of the Great River. — Starting on 
the eventful journey. — Joined by his broiher George and Barrett 
Channing Paine. — Collecting materials for the expedition. — 
Brainerd the first point of departure. — Through the Chippewa 
conntry. — Seventy miles of government road. — Curiosity its own 
reward. — Arrival at Leech Lake 437 



CHAPTER XXXVIL 

HOME OF THE CHIPPEWAS. 

An embryonic red man. — A primitive hotel. — An unkempt inhab- 
itant of the forest. — Leech Lake. — Major Ruffe's arrival. — White 
Cloud. — Paul Beaulieu and his theory about the source of the 
Mississippi. — Che-no-wa-ge-sic. — Studying Indian manners and 
customs. — Dining with Indian royalty. — Chippewa hospitality. — 
How the wife of an Indian Chief entertains. — Souvenir of Flat 
Mouth. — Return of Che-no-wa-ge-sic. — A council held. — An In- 
dian speech. — " No White Man has yet seen the head of the 
Father of Waters." — Voyage of exploration. — Launching the 
canoes 444 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY. 

Launching the canoes. — Flat Mouth and White Cloud again. — An 
inspiring scene. — Farewell to Leech Lake. — Up the Kabekanka 
River. — Dinner at Lake Benedict. — Difficult navigation. — A 
peaceful haven. — Supper and contentment. — Lake Garfield. — 
Preparations for first portage.— Utter exhaustion. — Encampment 
for the night. — The cavalry column. — Lake George and I^ike 
Paine. — The Naiwa River, — Six miles from Itasca. — Camping on 
the Missii=;sippi watershed. — A startling discovery. — Rations giv- 
ing out.— Ammunition gone. — Arrival at Lake Itasca . 4*54 
2 



xviii CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER XXXIX: 

DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

Short rations. — Empty haversacks and depleted cartridge-boxes. — 
Statement of Chenovvagesic. — Captain Glazier's diary. — Vivid 
description. — Coasting Itasca. — Chenowagesic puzzled. — The bar- 
rier overcome. — Victory ! the Infant Mississippi. — Enthusiastic 
desire to see the source. — The goal reached. — A beautiful lake. 
— The fountain head. — An American the first white man to 
stand by its side. — Schoolcraft. — How he came to miss the lake. 
— Appropriate ceremonies. — Captain Glazier's speech. — Naming 
the lake. — Chenowagesic. — Military honors. — "Three cheers for 
the explorer " 465 

CHAPTER XL. 

DOWN THE GREAT RIVER. 

Voyage from Source to Sea. — Three thousand miles in an open 
canoe. — "Pioneers of the Missi.ssippi.'' — A thrilling lecture. — The 
long voyage begun. — Mosquitoes. — Hunger and exhaustion. — 
The Captain kills an otter. — Lakes Bemidji and Winnibegoshish. 
— An Indian missionary. — Wind-bound. — Chenowagesic bids 
farewell to the Captain. — Pokegama Falls. — Grand Rapids. — 
Meeting the first steamboat. — Aitkin. — Great enthusiasm. — The 
new canoes. — Leaving Aitkin. — Arrival at Little Falls. — Escorted 
in triumph to the town. — "Captain Glazier! A speech! A 
speech!" — Lake Pepin. — An appalling storm. — St. Louis. — 
Southern hospitality. — New Orleans. — Arrival at the Gulf of 
Mexico. — End of voyage 476 

CHAPTER XLL 

RECEPTION BY THE NEW ORLEANS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 

Captain Glazier returns to New Orleans. — A general ovation. — Flat- 
tering opinions of the press. — Introduction to the Mayor. — FreS' 
dora of the City tendered. — Special meeting of the New Or- 
leans Academy of Sciences. — Presentation of the "Alice" to 
the Academy. — Captain Glazier's address. — The President's Re 
spouse. — Resolutions of thanks and appreciation passed. — Visit 
to the Arsenal of the Washington Artillery. — Welcome by the 
Old Guard of the Louisiana Tigers. — Pleasant memories of the 
*• Crescent City " , . , . . . . . 490 



CONTENTS. xix 

CHAPTER XLIL 

BEFORE THE MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Return to St. Louis, — Lecture at Mercantile Library Hall. — Bril- 
liant audience. — The Missouri Historical Society present. — 
Eloquent iniroduction by Judge Todd. — " Pioneers of the Missis- 
sippi." — Presentation of the " Itasca " to the Historical Society. — 
Remarks of Captain Silas Bent on accepting the canoe. — Con- 
gratulations of the audience. — Closing scene . , . 496 

CHAPTER XLHL 

GREETINGS OF THE VOYAGE. 

An interesting souvenir. — Greeting at Lake Glazier. — Petition to 
Geographical Societies. — Voice from Aitkin, Gate City of the Up- 
per Mississippi. — Tributes from Brainerd. — Mississippi Pyramid. 
— An old friend at La Crosse. — Greetings at St. Louis. — Senator 
Lnmar. — Royal welcome at Bayou Tunica. — Sentiment of Port 
Eads. — Congratulations of tlie officers of the " Margaret." — 
Greetings from New Orleans. — "Fame's triple wreath." — Closing 
remarks 502 



Illustkations. 



Portrait of the Soldier-Author Frontispiece 

Birthplace of Willakd Glazier 2ti 

The First Battle 32 

Race with the Schoolmaster 44 

Tragic Experience with an Ox-team 80 

The Young Trapper of the Oswegaichie 90 

A Cavalry Column on the March 118 

Night Attack on Falmouth HEKfiiTs 126 

Illicit Trading on the Rappahannock 130 

Burial of Captain Walters at Mid-night 134 

Sergeant Glazier at Aldie 146 

Lieutenant Glazier at Brandy Station 156 

Cavalry Fight at New Baltimore— Lieutenant Glazier 

TAKEN Prisoner 160 

LiBBY Prison 166 

The Hole in the Floor 192 

Tunneling— The Narrow Path to Frkedom 198 

Charleston Jail— Charleston, South Carolina 206 

The Escape from Columbia— Crossing the Dead-line 216 

The Escape— Fed by Negroes in a Swamp 220 

The Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties 224 

Uncle Zeb's Prayer 232 

The Escape— Crossing the Savannah at Midnight 246 

A Mutual Surprise: 258 

Recaptured by a Confederate Outpost 2G6 

The Escape and Pursuit 270 

The Escape from Sylvania, Georgia 276 

Interview with JoelMunsell 306 

Cavalry Fouaging-Party Returning to Camp 312 

A Cavalry Bivouac 320 

Battle of Gettysburg 332 

Captain Glazier at Tremont Temple— Boston 364 

Boston to Brighton— First Day of The Journey 376 

A Night among Wolves 406 

Captured by Lndians, near Skull Rocks, Wyoming 412 

Pursued by Arrapahoes 418 

Riding into the Pacific, near Cliff House— San Fran- 
cisco 428 

Captain Glazier Embarking for the Headwaters of 

the Mississippi 454 

Camp Among the Pines 458 

Making a Portage 461 

Lake Glazier— Source OF the Mississippi . =. ... 468 

Map Illustrative of Captain Glazier's ExFLORATiuKS.... 474 
Captain Glazier Running Rapids on Upper Mississippi... 478 



SVV^ORD AND PEN. 

CHAPTER I. 

OBIGIN OF THE GLAZIER FAMILY. 

Lineage of Willard Glazier. — A good stock.— Oliver Glazier at 
the Battle of Bunker Hill. — The home of honest industry. — 
The Coronet of Pembroke. — The " Homestead Farm.*' — Mehi- 
table Bolton. — Her New England home. — Her marriage to 
Ward Glazier.— The wild "North Woods."— The mother of the 
soldier-author. 

WILLARD GLAZIER comes of the mixed 
blood of Saxon and of Celt. We first hear 
of his ancestors upon this side of the Atlantic at that 
period of our nation's history which intervened be- 
tween the speck of war at Lexington and the cloud 
of war at Bunker Hill. 

Massachusetts and the town of Boston had become 
marked objects of the displeasure of the British Parlia- 
ment. Later, in 1775, Ethan Allen had startled 
Captain Delaplace by presenting his lank figure at the 
captain's bedside and demanding the surrender of 
Ticonderoga in the name of the "Great Jehovah and 
the Continental Congress." In the language of Daniel 
^V'ebster, "A spirit pervaded all ranks, not transient, 
not boisterous, but deep, solemn, determined." 

War on their own soil and at their own doors was 

indeed a strange work to the yeomanry of New Eng* 

(21) 



22 SWORD A^'D PEN. 

land; but their consciences were convinced of its neces- 
sity, and when their country called them to her defense 
they did not withhold themselves from the perilous 
responsibility. 

The statement of Quincy seemed to pervade all 
hearts. Said that distinguished son of genius and 
patriotism, " Blandishments will not fascinate us, nor 
will threats of a halter intimidate; for, under God, we 
are determined that wheresoever, whensoever, and 
howsoever we shall be called to make our exit, we 
will die free men." 

At such a time, and among such men, w'e find en- 
rolled in the ranks of the patriot army Oliver Glazier, 
the great-grandfather of the subject of the present 
work. 

Oliver's father w^as John Glazier, a Massachusetts 
Lancastrian, born in 1739. John Glazier was the son 
of William Glazier, born about the year 1700, his 
ancestry being respectively of English and of Scotch 
extraction. Oliver himself, however, was born in the 
town of Lancaster, in the province or colony of Massa- 
chusetts, May twenty-third, 1763. 

Hence the blood of Norman, of Saxon and of Celt, 
that had forgotten the animosities of race and mingled 
quietly in the veins of his ancestors, had become purely 
American in Oliver, and though but little over four- 
teen years of age, we find him doing yeoman service 
upon the ramparts of Bunker Hill. 

That he performed well his part in the struggle for 
liberty, is evident from the fact that he appears upon 
the rolls as a pensioner, from the close of that mem- 
orable contest until the time of his death. 

Mr. Frank Renehan, in a sketch contributed by him 



OLIVER GLAZIER. 23 

to an elaborate work which was published by the New 
York and Hartford Publishin}^ Company in 1871, 
comments as follows upon the coincidence of Oliver 
Glazier in 1775 and Willard Glazier in 1861 — both 
being at the time of entering service comparatively 
boys in age, enlisting for the defense of their country: 
" The former, though then but fourteen years of age, 
participated with the patriots in the battle of Bunker 
Hill, and to the last contributed his young enthusiasm 
and willing services to the cause he had espoused; 
thus giving early testimony of his devotion to the 
land of his adoption and of fealty to the principles of 
popular government involved in the struggle for 
American independence. So remarkable an instance 
of ancestral fidelity to the interests of civil liberty 
could not but exercise a marked influence upon those 
of the same blood to whom the tradition was handed 
down, and here we find our subject, a scion of the third 
generation, assisting in 1861 on the battlefields of the 
South, in maintenance of the liberty his progenitor had 
contributed to achieve in 1775 on the battlefields of the 
North ! This is not mentioned as a singular fact — his- 
tory is replete with just such coincidences— but merely 
for the purpose of suggesting the moral that in matters 
of patriotism the son is only consistent when he imitates 
the example and emulates the virtues of his sires/' 

In this eloquent passage occurs an error of fact. 
Oliver Glazier while in the patriot army was not fight- 
ing for the " land of his adoption." As we have seen, 
he was native here and " to the manor born." In- 
deed, in the light of historic proof and with the ex- 
ample of men descended from Washington and Light 
Horse Harry Lee before us, we are rather inclined to 



24 SWORD AND PEN. 

admire the paragraph as a fine specimen of rhetorical 
composition than to admit its accuracy as a deduction 
in pliilosophy. 

Sub.-cqicnt to his term of military service — an ex- 
perience through which he had safely passed — Oliver 
Glazier became a resident of West Boylston, Massa- 
chusetts, where he married a Miss Hastings. 

The name of Glazier, Lower tells us, is purely Eng- 
lish, and is derived from the title given to the trade. 
Plowever that may be, those who have borne it have 
always expressed a pride in having sprung from the 
great mass — the people — and have held with the phil- 
osopher of Sunnyside, that whether "hereditary rank 
be an illusion or not, hereditary virtue gives a patent 
of nobility beyond all the blazonry of the herald's col- 
lege." The name of Hastings takes its rise from 
a nobler source; for Mrs. Oliver Glazier brought 
into the family as blue blood as any m all England. 
The great family which bears that name in Great 
Britain can show quarterings of an earlier date than 
the battle which gave a kingdom to William of Nor- 
mandy. Macaulay says that one branch of their line, 
in the fourteenth century, " wore the coronet of Pem- 
broke ; that from another sprang the renowned Lord 
Chamberlain, the faithful adherent of the White Rose, 
whose fate has furnished so striking a theme both to 
the poet and historian," and while it is probable that 
this wife of an American patriot was many degrees re- 
moved from the powerful leaders whose name she bore, 
the same blood undoubtedly flowed in her veins that 
coursed through theirs. 

Oliver, during the many years of a happy married 
life which terminated in his death at the ripe age of 



MEHITABLE BOLTON, 25 

ninety-seven, became the father of eight children. His 
son Jabez left Boylston at an early age, and after con- 
siderable '* prospecting" finally married a Miss Sarah 
Tucker and settled in the township of Fowler, St. 
Lawrence County, New York. Out of their union 
sprang three sons, George, Ward, and Henry, and four 
daughters, Elvira, Martha, Caroline and Lydia. Dur- 
ing a visit he made to his "down East" relations, 
Ward married a young lady by the name of Mehitable 
Bolton, of West Boylston, Massachusetts. 

This young lady was a true representative of the 
New England v/oraan, who believee that work is the 
handmaid of religion. She entered a cotton factory at 
Worcester when only seventeen years of age, and worked 
perseveringly through long years of labor, often walk- 
ing from her home in West Boylston to the factory 
at Worcester, a distance of seven miles. At the time 
of her marriage — which occurred when she was twenty- 
five — she had accumulated the snug little sum of five 
hundred dollars, besides possessing a handsome ward- 
robe, all of which was the fruit of her own untiring 
industry. 

If it be true that the mothers of men of mark are 
always women of strong and noble characters, then we 
are not surprised to find in the mother of Willard 
Glazier those sterling qualities which made her young 
life successful. 

The early married life of AYard Glazier was passed 
upon the farm first cleared and cultivated by his father, 
and which has since become known to the neighbor- 
hood as the "Old Glazier Homestead." This farm 
is situated in the township of Fowler, midway 
between the small villages of Little York and Fullers- 
ville. 



26 SWORD A XI) PEX. 

The township is a tract of rugi^ed huid, containing 
only the little village of Haiiesborough, besides those 
already named. Along its borders rushes and tum- 
bles a turbulent stream which still retains its orig- 
inal Indian appellation — the Oswegatchie ; a name no 
doubt conveying to the ear of its aboriginal sponsors 
some poetical conceit, just as another stream in far otF 
Virginia is named the Shenandoah, or " Daughter of 
the Stars.'' 

Those who are at all familiar with the scenery that 
prevails in what in other sections of the country are 
called the great North Woods, and in their own neigh- 
borhood the great South Woods, can readily imagine 
what were the geological and scenic peculiarities of 
Fowler township. Bare, sterile, famished-looking, as 
far as horticultural and herbaceous crops are concerned, 
yet rich in pasture and abounding in herds — with vast 
rocks crested and plumed with rich growths of black 
balsam, maple, and spruce timber, and with huge 
boulders scattered carelessly over its surface and mar- 
gining its streams, St. Lawrence County presents to- 
day features of savage grandeur as wild and imposing 
as it did ere the foot of a trapper had profaned its 
primeval forests. 

Yet its farms and its dwellings are numerous, its 
villages and towns possess all the accompaniments of 
modern civilization, the spires of its churches indicate 
that the gentle influences of religion are not forgotten, 
and there, as elsewhere, the indomitable will of man 
has won from the wilderness a living and a home. 



^m^^^mW'^^h^^^. 




CHAPTER 11. 

BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD OF WILLARD GLAZIER. 

The infant stranger. — A mother's prayers. — " Be just before you 
are generous." — Careful training. — "VVillard Glazier's first bat- 
tle. — A narrow escape. — Facing the foe. — The happy days of 
childhood. — '■ The boy is father to the man." 

THE Glazier Homestead, as we have said, is upon 
the main road leading from Little York to Fiil- 
lersville. It is a substantial and comfortable farm- 
house, with no pretension to architectural beauty, biit, 
nevertheless, is a sightly object in a pleasant land- 
scape. Standing back two hundred feet from the 
road, in a grove of gigantic elms, with a limpid brook 
of spring water a short distance to the right, and rich 
fields of herd grass stretching off rearwards towards 
the waters of tlie Oswegatchie, which hurry along on 
their journey of forty miles to the St. Lawrence River, 
the old house is sure to attract the attention of the 
traveller, and to be long remembered as a picture of 
solid and substantial comfort. 

In this old house, upon the morning of August 
twenty -second, 1841, to Ward Glazier and Mehitable, 
his wife, a son was borj) who was subsequently named 
Willard. The father and mother were by no means 
sentimental peo})le — they were certainly not given to 
seeing the poetical side of life; they were plain, 
earnest people, rough hewn out of the coar.se fibre 
of Puritanism, but the advent of this little child 

(27) 



28 SWOBD AND PEN, 

brought a jov to their hearts that had its softening 
influence upon the home in which he was to be 
reared. 

The thoroughness of Ward Glazier's nature, that 
conscientiousness in excess which made him radical in 
all things, was of the heart as well as of the head, and 
though not a demonstrative man, the intensity of his 
paternal love cropped out in many ways. As to his 
wife, hers was truly " mother's love." And what 
notes are there attuned to sacred music, in all the 
broad vocabulary of the English tongue, which gives 
any idea of the sentiment that links a woman to her 
babe, except the three simple syllables, "mother's 
love ! " Brooding over the tiny stranger, ready to 
laugh or cry ; exultant with hope and pride, despondent 
with fear, quivering with anguish if the 'Svind of 
heaven doth visit its cheek too roughly," and singing 
hosannas of joy when it lisps the simpler syllables that 
she so patiently has taught, covering it with the broad 
wing of her measureless affection, and lavishing upon 
it such " sighs as perfect joy perplexed for utterance, 
steals from her sister sorrow," there is nothing except 
God's own illimitable affection for his creatures, that 
can rival in depth and strength and comprehensiveness, 
a mother's love. 

The heart of Ward Glazier's wife, at this time, blos- 
somed in absolutely rank luxuriance with this feeling, 
and ran riot in the joy of its possession ; btit she deter- 
mined within herself that it should be no blind or 
foolish worship. It grew, therefore, into a sober, 
sareful, provident affection. 

Quiet and unobtrusive in manner, her face always 
wore a look of gravity befitting one who felt that God 



EARLY TEACHINGS. 29 

had entrusted to her charge a fresh human soul to 
mould for good or evil. She fully realized the fact 
that her son would grow up with honor or sink down 
into ignominy just as she should guide or spoil hira 
in his youth. She quite comprehended the stub- 
born truth, that while the father to some extent may 
shape the outward career of his son, the mother is re- 
sponsible for the coloring of his inner life: and that 

"All we learn of good is learned in youth, 
\Vhen passion's heat is pure, when love is truth." 

Though of Puritan stock, though reared in the aus- 
tere faith of John Knox, there was nothing hard or 
harsh in this mother's character, and still less was 
there anything of the materialist about her. She 
would have utterly scouted the doctrine of Cabanis 
and his school, which held that the physical was the 
whole structure of man ; that all instincts, passions, 
thoughts,emanated from the body; that sensibility is 
an effect of the nervous system, that passion is an 
emanation of the viscera, that intellect is nothing more 
than a cerebral secretion, and '^self-consciousness but a 
general faculty of living matter." She had drunk in- 
spiration of a different kind from her infancy. In her 
New England home the very atmosphere was charged 
with religious influences. She was taught, or rather 
she had learned without a teacher, not only to see God 
in the flowers and in the stars, but to recognize his 
immediate agency in all things terrestrial. 

Night after night, listening to the tremulous tones 
of her father as he read a lesson from the sacred page, 
not only to those of his own blood, but to his "man- 
servant, his maid-servant, and the stranger within his 



30 SWORD AND PEK 

gates/' she had felt the presence of a tangible God, and 
when, at last, she followed the fortunes of the chosen 
one of her heart far into the great North Woods, nature 
spoke to her from the forest and the cataract, deepen- 
ing each early impression and intensifying each early 
belief, until she realized as a living fact that the ^' Lord 
was ever in his holy temple '' and that his temple was 
the universe. 

To a woman like this every act of life became a mat- 
ter of conscience, and the training of her child of course 
became such to Mrs. Glazier. She had watched the 
pitfalls which the " world, the flesh and the devil '^ — 
that trinity of evil — provide for the feet of the unwary, 
and she determined that young AVillard's steps, if she 
could prevent it, should never stray that way. 

Her husband took life and its duties much more 
easily. He was less rigid in his sense of parental re- 
sponsibility. While a man of great rectitude of pur- 
pose, he was good-natured to a fault — somewhat im- 
provident, careless of money, ever ready to extend aid 
to the needy, and especially disinclined to the exercise 
of harshness in his home, even when the stern element 
of authority was needed. In short, he was one of those 
big-hearted men wdio are so brimful of the "milk of 
human kindness " that the greatest pain they ever feel 
is the pain they see others suffer. His plan therefore 
was,spare the rod even if you do s\)0\\ the child. 

But — perhaps fortunately for young Willard — Mrs. 
Glazier held different views. From his very infancy 
she endeavored to instil into his nature habits of truth- 
fulness, industry and thrift. "Never waste and never 
lie '' was her pet injunction. Her aim was not to make 
her son a generous, but '^ijust man. "One hour of jus- 



MAXIiMS. 31 

tice is worth an eternity of prayer," says the Arabian 
proverb, but Mrs. Glazier, while she exalted justice as 
the greatest of the virtues, also believed that in order 
to make man's heart its temple, prayer was an abso- 
lutely necessary pre-requisite. She likewise endeavored 
from the first to habituate the boy's mind to reflect 
upon the value of money and the uses of economy. 
She would have " coined her blood for drachms " if 
that would have benefited her husband or her son. 
Her savings were not spent upon herself, but in the 
hard school of a bitter experience she had learned that 
money means much more than dollars and cents — 
that its possession involves the ability to live a life of 
honor, untempted by the sordid solicitations that 
clamor round the poor man's door and wring the poor 
man's heart. 

The result was that as soon as he began to compre- 
hend her words, young Willard had impressed upon his 
memory maxims eulogizing all who practise habits of 
sobriety, industry and frugality, and denunciatory of 
all who fail to do so. 

His mother never wearied of teaching him such say- 
ings of Dr. Franklin as these: ^^Time is money," 
" Credit is money ,'^ " Money begets money," " The 
good paymaster is lord of another man's purse," and 
*'The sound of a man's hammer heard by his creditor 
at six o'clock in the morning makes him easy six 
months longer, while the sound of his voice heard in a 
tavern, induces him to send for his money the next 
day ; " " Trifling items aggregate into large totals," 
while the text that ruled the house was that of the 
Scripture, ^' If any would not work neither should he 
eat." 

3 



S2 SWORD AND PEN. 

The effect of the constant teaching of such lessons 
was not however perceptible in the lad's habits in very 
early life. He was no model little boy, no monster of 
perfection — he was like the boys that we see around us 
every day — not one of the marvels we read about. 
But the seed was sown in his soul which was destined 
to quicken into fruit in after life. 

At the early age of four years his mother began to 
teach him to read and write, and under her loving tui- 
tion he acquired a knowledge of these two branches of 
culture quite rapidly. 

Just about this time an incident occurred which 
came near finishing young Wil lard's career in a manner 
as sudden as it would have been singular. 

The ^' Homestead Farm " was at that time pretty 
well stocked for a place only containing one hundred 
and forty acres, and among the cattle \vas a sturdy 
Alderney bull whose reputation for peace and quietness 
was unusually good. 

On a certain morning, however, early in the spring 
of the year 1845, young Master Willard happened to 
overhear a conversation between two of the farm 
hands, in the course of which one of them declared 
that "old Blackface was tarin' round mighty lively/' 
This statement interested the lad to such an extent that 
he concluded to go and see how this " tarin' round " 
was done. 

Accordingly, taking advantage of a moment when 
his mother's attention was occupied, he started for the 
barnyard, into which Mr. Bull had been turned only 
a few moments before. Now as young Willard was 
somewhat smaller than the visitors our bovine friend 
was in the habit of receiving, such an unwarrantable 



GLAZIER'S FIRST BATTLE. 3;^ 

intrusion was not to be tolerated for a moment. Ac- 
cordingly, no sooner had Willard set his little feet 
within the enclosure of the barn-yard than the bull 
gave a roar of rage, and catching the boy on the tips 
of his horns, which fortunately were buttoned, sent 
him twenty feet up in the air, preparing to trample 
him out of existence when he should come down. 
Luckily some of the men were attracted to the scene, 
who secured his bullship and rescued the child, 
Willard was not seriously hurt, and the instant he 
regained his feet, he turned round, shook his tiny fist 
at the now retreating animal and shouted out in a 
shrill treble, *' When I get to be a big man I'll toss 
you in the air ! " 

Having thus taken the bull by the horns in a literal 
as well as figurative sense, the lad began gradually to 
develop into that terrible embodiment of unrest — a 
boy. He exhibited no very marked peculiarities up 
to this time to distinguish him from other youths; but 
just grew into the conglomerate mass of good, bad and 
indifferent qualities which go to make up the ordinary 
flesh-and-blood boy — brimful of mischief and impatient 
of restraint. 



CHAPTER III. 

EARLY LIFE AND HABITS. 

Scotch-Irish Presbyterianism of twenty-five years ago. — The " littl« 
deacon." — First days at school. — Choosing a wife. — A youthful 
gallant. — A close si:holar but a wild lad. — A mother's influence. 
— Ward Glazier a Grahamite. — Young Willard's practical jokes. 
— Anecdote of Crystal Spring. — " That is something like water." 

IT must not be supposed that young Willard's honic 
was gloomy and joyless, because it was presided 
over by a religious woman. The Presbyterians of 
that day and that race were by no means a lugubrious 
people. They did not necessarily view their lives as a 
mere vale of tears, nor did they think the ^' night side 
of nature'^ the most sacred one. The Rev. Mr. Mor- 
rison, one of their divines, tells us that ^Hhe thought- 
less, the grave, the old and the young, alike enjoyed 
every species of wit," and though they were ^* thought- 
ful, serious men, yet they never lost an occasion that 
might promise sport," and he very pertinently asks, 
" what other race ever equaled them in getting up 
corn-huskings, log-rollings and quiltings? — and what 
hosts of- queer stories are connected with them ! " 
Fond of fun, there was a grotesque humor about them, 
which in its way has, perhaps, never been equaled. 

" It was the sternness of the Scotch Covenanter 
softened by a century's residence abroad, amid perse- 
cution and trial, united to the comic humor and pathos 
of the Irish, and then grown wild in the woods among 
their own New England mountains." 
(34) 



THE ''LITTLE DEACON:' 35 

Such was the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian ism of that 

period. 

Other cheerful influences were also at work in the 
two villages that comprised the town of Fowler. 
The only house of worship in the town proper was a 
Universalist church, and the people were compelled for 
the most part, notwithstanding their individual creeds, 
to worship in a common temple where the asperities of 
sectarian difference had no existence. 

Ward Glazier, at that time, was an adherent of 
Universalism, while his wife held different views. 
But he was ever ready to ride with his wife and son 
to the church of her choice at Gouverneur, a distance 
of six miles, and returning, chat with them pleasantly 
of the sermon, the crops, the markets and the gossip 
of the town. 

In truth, young AVillard's early home was a good 
and pleasant one, and having learned, under his 
mother's careful training, to read exceedingly well, for 
a boy of his age, by the time he reached his fourth 
year he became noted for his inquiring disposition, his 
quiet manner, and a quaint habit of making some 
practical application of the "wise saws" with which 
his mother had stored his juvenile mind. 

The result was that up to this period of his exist- 
ence he was an old-fashioned little follow, and somehow 
had acquired the sobriquet of the " little deacon." 

At about five years of age, however, a change took 
place in the boy. 

The bird that flutters and twitters in the parent 
nest is a very different thing froui the emancipated 
fledgeling, feeling its newly acquired power of flight, 
and soaring far up and out into the woods and over 



36 SWORD AND PEN. 

the fields; and the boy whose experience of life is 
confined to the household of his j^arents, is not less 
different from the lad who has gone beyond it into 
the bustle and turmoil of tliat epitomized world, — a 
public school. 

Little Willard, like other youths, was thrown into 
this new sphere of action suddenly, and without any 
adequate idea of what was there expected of him. 
The first day passed as all first days at school pass, 
not in study, but in looking on and becoming accus- 
tomed to the surroundings, himself in turn being the 
subject of scrutiny by his school-mates, as the "new 
boy.'^ The day did not end, however, without its 
incident. 

Young Willard as soon as he had made his bow to 
his new teacher, was placed upon a bench in close 
proximity to a pretty little girl of about his own age. 
Instead of wasting his time therefore, by studying the 
less attractive lineaments of his male companions, he 
made a careful comparison between this young lady 
and the other girls present, the result of which was 
that the moment he was permitted to go out during 
the customary recess, he bounded off home at the top 
of his speed, and with all the exuberance natural to 
his years announced to his astonished mother, " Mother ! 
•mother! I've picked out my wife ! " 

Susceptibility to the influence of beauty seems, at 
this period of Willard's life, to have been one of his 
prominent characteristics, for in addition to exhibiting 
itself in the manner described, upon another occasion 
not long afterwards it broke out as follows : 

Every school-boy is aware that there is nothing so 
humiliating to a male pupil at a public school as t(j 



BETWEEN TWO GIRLS. 37 

be called a "girl-boy." Hence, for trivial offences a 
boy is often punished by being sandwiched between 
two girls, and compelled to remain there until, the 
offence committed has been sufficiently atoned for. 
Now young Willard was frequently guilty of talking 
during study hours, and his teacher determined to try 
this species of punishment upon him with a view of 
correcting the offensive habit. As soon, therefore, as 
he caught him indulging in the prohibited practice, he 
was ordered to take his place between two very young 
ladies of six and eight summers respectively. To the 
amazement of his teacher, young Willard sustained the 
infliction smilingly, and believing that this was an 
indication that the culprit recognized the justice of the 
punishment and was practising a commendable patience, 
he very soon called him up to his own desk, reasoned 
with him upon the necessity of observing the rules of 
school, and released him with an admonition to be 
careful for the future, as a repetition of his offence 
would certainly be followed by a repetition of the 
punishment. 

Willard said nothing, but went to his desk, and for 
the space of five minutes, perhaps, there was complete 
^lence in the school-room. Then Mr. was star- 
tled to hear a distinct, clear, unmistakable whisper 
break in upon his meditations, and became as suddenly 
struck with the conviction that it was uttered by 
Master Willard Glazier. 

The countenance of the pedagogue grew dark and 
stern. Fire shot from his usually calm eyes, and his 
expression betokened the fact that this flagrant act of 
disobedience was more than he could bear. Indigna- 
tion however soon gave place to astonishment, for the 



58 SWORD AND PEN. 

little fellow, without waiting for a single word from 
his teacher's lips, quietly arose to his feet, and with 
the placid expression of an individual performing a 
meritorious action, marched across the school-room and 
deliberately seated himself in the place he had before 
occupied between the two little girls. 

^' Willard Glazier ! '' thundered the master, " come 
here, sir, immediately! '' 

The boy of course instantly obeyed. 

*' What do you mean, sir ! " exclaimed the teacher, 
" how dare you conduct yourself in this disgraceful 
manner, sir ! " 

Young Willard looked astonished. 

'' Why, Mr. ;' said he, '' didn't you say 'that if I 

whispered to Myron Sprague again, I should go back 
and sit between Lizzie and Annie?" 

"Yes, sir, I did, and how dare you disobey me in 
this way?" 

" Why, sir," said Willard, " I whispered again to 
him, because, sir, — because — I like to sit there, sir." 

A light dawned upon the mind of the master, and 
thereafter he adopted a less attractive mode of pun- 
ishing AVillard's offences. To some of my readers 
such incidents may seem too trivial for record, and 
no doubt such days as these are foolish days, but 
are they not in our memories, among our very ha})piest 
too? As David Copperfie!d said of such, so say we, 
that "of all my time that Time has in his grip, there's 
none at which I smile so much, or think of half so 
kindly." 

The usual surroundings of a public school made a 
great change in the existence of Willard Glazier, and 
it is necessary to note its influence, for in writing the 



PRACTICAL JOKES, , ,S9 

life of a man in its private as well as its public rela- 
tions, the chief point to be considered is that which 
men call character^ and how it was formed and fash- 
ioned. 

If the truth must be told, the "little deacon " had 
not been a month in attendance at school before he 
Avas up to every imaginable species of mischief that the 
fertile brain of a school-boy could conceive — provided 
its execution did not involve unequivocal untruth or 
palpable dishonesty. 

No human being, save one, was exempt from his 
practical jokes. That one was his mother. In his 
wildest moods, a glance of reproach from her would 
check him. His father, however, enjoyed no such 
immunity, and in a kindly way, he delighted in tor- 
menting the good man whenever the opportunity 
offered. 

For instance, that worthy gentleman, among other 
idiosyncracies, was a follower of the so-called Dr. 
Sylvester Graham, an ex-Presbyterian clergyman who, 
in 1832, inaugurated, by a familiar course of lectures, 
a new system of dietetics. 

The Grahamites, as they were called, held that 
health is the necessary result of obeying certain physi- 
cal laws, and disease the equally certain result of 
disobeying them ; that all stimulants are pernicious to 
the human body, and should be rejected, except in 
those rare cases where it becomes necessary to admin- 
ister one known poison as an antidote to another 
equally deadly, in order to neutralize its effects or 
expel it from the system. Dr. Gi-aham condemned 
the use of tea, coffee and spices, tobacco, opium, r.nd 
not only alcoholic drinks but even beer and cider, 



40 • SWORD A XI) PEN. 

declaring that all were equally poisonous, 'and that 
they only differed in the degree in which their evil 
qualities were concentrated or expanded. 

Ward Glazier held this theory to be the result of n 
profound philosophy, and considered the observance 
of the course of diet he prescribed to be the only way 
in which a human being could secure for himself a 
sound mind in a sound body. In medicine, Mr. 
Glazier was an equally rigid hydropathist. He held 
that the system of water cure was the only rational 
system of healing. One of his individual fancies was 
to drink only water obtained from a particular spring. 
This spring was beautifully clear and cold, and was 
situated at the distance of about sixty rods from the 
house. It was Willard's allotted duty each day to fill 
a large pitcher from its crystal treasures for use at 
meals. In order to do tliis, the brooklet being ex- 
tremely shallow, and running over masses of pebbles, 
he was compelled to kneel and dip it up with a cup, 
— an operation requiring both time and patience. 
Now within a few yards of this place flowed a small 
stream or creek considerably deeper and of larger 
volume, fed by a number of rills, and as the boy had 
conceived the impression that his father only fancied 
a distinction where there was really no difference, 
between the waters of the rival streams, it occurred to 
him that he might just as well plunge his pitcher in 
the latter, fill it by a single effort, and thus save him- 
self what he especially disliked, — useless labor. This 
he did with the following result: 

Ward Glazier was just about sitting down to dinner 
as Willard entered, and observing that his son came 
from the immediate vicinity of the creek, poured 



A PITCHER OF WATER. 41 

'?nt and tasted a little of the water with evident dis- 
satisfaction. 

" Willard," said he, "joii didn't get this from the 
spring ; this is creek water. Now go right back and 
get a pitcherfnl from the spring." 

Off started Master Willard to do as he was bidden, 
but on his way, the originator of all mischief suggested 
to his fertile brain the idea of playing a trick upon his 
father; so instead of going to the spring, he simply 
loitered for a few moments out of sight of such of the 
family as might be at the windows, 

"Under an eira whose antique roots peep out 
Upon the brook, that brawls along the wood." 

He then quietly sauntered back, with the identical 
pitcher of water with which he had come forth. 

" There,'' said he, emphatically, as if he had fulfilled 
his mission, at the same tinie placing the pitcher near 
his father's plate upon the table. The good man took 
it up, examined the contents with a critical eye, poured 
out a glassful of the sparkling liquid and drained it 
to the last drop, 

"Ah," said he, with a sigh expressive of great satis- 
faction, " that is something like water ! that docs a 
man good ! " 

This evidence of parental fallibility Master Willard 
enjoyed hugely, but it was many years before he ven- 
tured to give his father an opportunity to join in the 
laugh at his own expense, by telling him of the concur- 
rence. 



CHAPTER IV. 

WILLARD GLAZIER AT SCHOOL. 

Scliool-davf? continued. — Boys will be boys.— Cornelius Carter, the 
teacher.— Young Willard's rebellion against injustice. — Gum- 
chewing. — Laughable race through the snow. — The tumble into 
a snow-bank, and what came of it. — The runaway caught. — 
Explanation and reconciliation.— >The new master, James Nichols. 
— "Spare the rod and spoil the child." — The age of chivalry 
not gone. — ISIagnanimity of a school-boy. — Friendship between 
Willard and Henry Abbott. — Good-bye to the " little deacon." 

WILLARD GLAZIER was, by no means, what 
is termed a bad boy, at school. 

It is true he was full of mischief; was the last in 
for study and the first out for recreation, but he was 
neither disobedient nor inattentive to his lessons. One 
scholarly element, however, he lacked. The bump 
which phrenologists term reverence had small develop- 
ment in him at this period of his existence. His 
record always stood high in the matter of lessons, but 
low in the matter of conduct. Instances of insubor- 
dination occurred whenever he thought lie was treated 
unfairly, while no boy was ever more ready to submit 
to authority when wisely and justly administered. The 
following incident is an illustration in point: 

One of his teachers bore the name of Cornelius 
Carter. We have been unable to ascertain this gentle- 
man's nationality, nor would Iiis history, if known to 
us, be pertinent to this work, but we have reason to 
(42) 



CORNELIUS CARTER. 43 

believe that he was of Scottish descent, if not actually 
a native of that 

" Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, 
Land of the mountain and the flood." 

At all events he possessed all the sterling qualities 
of that clear-headed people. 

A man of fine parts and scholarly attainments, 
earnestly bent upon doing his whole duty, vigorous, 
energetic and thorough in everything, Carter was just 
the man to conduct a school with mathematical precision, 
but at the same time, his natural irritability was such 
that the whirlwind was less fierce than his wrath, when 
the latter was aroused. About the time of his advent 
among the pupils at the Little York public school, 
gum-chewing had become an accomplishment among 
the boys, and though it was a species of amusement 
positively forbidden, was carried on surreptitiously 
throughout the school. 

One dark winter morning just after a heavy fall of 
snow, it happened that our friend Willard, though 
placed upon a bench in the middle of a row of these 
gum-chewing juveniles, was himself not chewing, for 
the simple reason that he had no gum to chew, and 
his next neighbors were niggardly enough to refuse to 
give him any. 

Suddenly the hawk eye of Carter swept down upon 
the offending group; and quite assured that if 
mischief was in progress, young Glazier was in it, 
came forward and stretching out his long arms, placed 
his palms upon the outermost cheek of each '^end 
boy," and brought the heads of the entire line together 
with a shock that made them ring again. Then, with- 
out a word, he caught each urchin in turn by the collar 



44 SWORD AND PEN. 

of liis coat, and with one vigorous jerk swung him 
into the middle of the floor and in his sternest tones 
bade them stand there until further orders. 

Willard did not at the moment venture to say any- 
thing, but stood with the rest, nursing his wrath. 
Had he really been at fault he would have thought 
nothing of it, but first to have been deprived by 
circumstances of the opportunity to break the rules, 
and then to be punished for a breach of them, was 
too much. 

He waited, without a word, until the group of 
delinquents, after listening to a scathing lecture, were 
dismissed to their seats. He then deliberately proceeded 
to put his books under his arm, preparatory to making 
a start for home. 

One of the monitors, a large boy, observing this 
movement, informed Mr. Carter that Willard Glazier 
was going to *'cut for home,'' in other words, to leave 
school without permission. 

The master, upon receiving this intelligence, started 
down the aisle towards young Willard; but that 
restive youth perceiving the movement, made rapid 
time for the door, and dashed down-stairs closely pur- 
sued by the now furious pedagogue. 

Having some rods the advantage at the start, the 
boy reached the exterior of the building first, and 
struck out in a straight line for home. 

The storms which prevailed throughout the entire 
winter in St. Lawrence County, had piled up their 
accumulated snows over the space of ground that 
separated the school-house from Willard Glazier's home. 
Over this single expanse of deep snow many feet had 
trodden a hard path, which alternate melting and 
freezing had formed into a solid, slippery, back-bono 



RACE WITH THE SCHOOLMASTER. 45 

looking ridge, altogether unsafe for fast travel. Over 
tills ridge young Willard was now running at the top of 
his speed. In view of the probable flogging behind, 
he took no heed of the perils of the path before him. 

" So like an arrow, swift he flew 
Shot by an archer strong, 
So did he fly, which brings me to 
Tlie middle of my song." 

As for Carter, not a whit daunted by the icy path 
and the fact that he was hatless, in slippers, and clad 
only in a long, loose summer coat worn in the heated 
school-room, he gave chase in gallant style, and while 
Willard possessed the advantage of an earlier start, 
the teacher's long legs compensated for the time gained 
by his pupil, and made a pretty even race of it. 

On he went therefore, his coat-tails standing out 
straight like the forks of a boot-jack, and a red 
bandanna handkerchief streaming in the wind from 
his pocket behind like some fierce piratic flag! On, 
too, went Master Willard Glazier, until both — one 
now nearly upon the heels of the other — reached a 
troublesome miniature glacier, when each missed his 
footing. 

Down went the boy's head and up went the master's 
heels, and the pair lay together, panting for breath, in 
the drifts of a contiguous snow-bank. 

"Ah, ha ! " said Carter, when he had recovered 
sufficiently to speak, "so you were going home, were 
you?" 

"Yes," said young Willard, as his head emerged 
from the drift, looking like an animated snow-ball, 
"and I would have reached there, too, if I hadn't 
slipped." 



46 SWORD AND PEN, 

This was all that was said, at the time, but as Mr. 
Carter led his prisoner back, an explanation took place, 
in which the lad so strongly insisted that his escapade 
arose from a sense of the gross injustice done him, 
that Carter's own sense of right was touched, and after 
admonishing the boy to take a different mode of 
redressing his grievances in the future, he agreed to 
foreeo the flooro^ino^ and let Master Willard finish the 
remainder of the session in the customary way. 

After this occurrence, Willard got along very well 
under the tuition of Mr. Carter, and it was not until 
some years later, when a gentleman by the name of 
Nichols took charge of the school, that anything 
transpired worthy of note. 

James Nichols was a devout believer in Solomon's 
maxim that to spare the rod is to spoil the child. The 
whip was his arbiter in all differences which arose 
between his pupils and himself. He never paused, as 
Mr. Montieth has lately done, to consider that at least 
two-thirds of the offences for which children are flogged 
at school are "crimes for which they are in nowise 
responsible," and " when stripped of the color given 
to them by senseless and unmeaning rules, they are 
simply the crimes of being a boy and being a girl," 
and are " incited by bad air, cold feet, overwork and 
long confinement ; crimes which the parents of these 
same children are accustomed to excuse in themselves, 
when they sit in church, by the dulness of the sermon, 
or other circumstances that offend against nature and 
which they sometimes soothe with fennel or hartshorn, 
or change of position, and not unseldom with sleep." 
In school discipline Mr. Nichols was a pure materialist. 
He never realized Cay ley's profound lesson that 



BREACH OF DISCIPLINE. 47 

'^ education is not the mere storing a youthful memory 
with a bundle of facts v/hich it neither dio^ests nor 
assimilates," but that it is the formation and training 
of a mind. Under his regime the rod ruled everything. 
Even the offence of whispering was punished by the 
lash. 

Upon one occasion, when young Willard was seated 
between two brothers — Henry and Bray ton Abbott by 
name — engaged in solving Algebraic problems, a 
whispered inquiry, regarding the lesson, passed from 
one to the other. 

Mr. Nichols at the moment happened to glance 
towards them, and conjectured, by the movement of 
Willard's lips, that he was violating the rule against 
whispering. 

^'Willard Glazier!" said he, angrily, "come out 
here, sir ! " 

The boy obeyed. 

"Now then, Willard," said Mr. Nichols, "I 
presume you understand the rules of this school?" 

"I think I do, sir." 

"Very well, then you know that whispering during 
the hours of study is a breach of its discipline, and 
that I must punish you." 

Willard said nothino:. 

o 

" Have you a knife, sir?" pursued the teacher. 

" No, sir," replied the boy, not quite certain whether 
the knife was wanted for the purpose of scalping him, 
or merely with a view of amputating the unruly 
member which had been the instrument of offence. 
"Well, take this one," said Nichols, handing him a 
five-bladed pocket-knife, with tlie large blade open, 
" go out and cut me a good stout stick." 



48 SWORD AND PEN. 

The boy by no means relished tlie ])rospect this 
mission suggested, but seeing no means of escape, he 
went to a grove in the neighborhood and cut a stick 
whose dimensions resembled a young tree — shrewdly 
suspecting that Nichols would never venture to use a 
club of such size. 

With this stick he stalked majestically back to the 
school-room. As he entered, he saw Henry Abbott 
standing up in front of the teacher's desk, and heard 
him utter these words : 

"It is not fair, Mr. Xichols, to flog Willard alone. 
It was my fault, sir. I beckoned to Brayton and 
whispered first. That is what started it. You should 
whip me, too, sir." 

The master, as we have said, was stern and uncom- 
promising, but his nature was not entirely devoid of 
feeling, and as he heard the brave admission, his eye 
lighted up with sudden softness. 

"Go back to your seats, boys," said lie, "I will not 
flog either of you to-day. Lads that are brave enough 
to face the punishment of one offence as you have 
done, can, I hope, be trusted not to soon commit 
another." 

The incident was one that raised the tone of the 
wliole school, and it gave rise to a warm feeling of 
admiration in Willard Glazier's breast for Henry 
Abbott which did Willard good, and made the two 
youths firm friends. 

Thus the years sped on — dotted with little incidents 
tliat seem too trivial to relate, and yet each one of which 
had some effect upon the future life and character of 
young Willard. He had become a pretty wild boy by 



OPPOSING INFLUENCES. 49 

this time, and the cognomen of the ^Mittle deacon" 
\vas dropped without ceremony. 

Although he was marked high for scholarly attain- 
ment, he received many a bad mark for violating the 
rules of school. 

This state of affairs existed until the boy had 
reached the age of eleven years, when he was brought 
into contact with two diametrically opposite influences, 
one of which was calculated to make and the other to 
mar his future character and fortunes. 



CHAPTER V. 

ECCENTRICITIES OF HENRY GLAZIER. 

Henry Glazier. — A singular character. — " Kaw-shaw-gan-ce " and 
" Quaw-taw-pee-ah." — Tom Lolar and Henry Glazier. — Attrac- 
tive show-bills. — Billy Muldoon and his trombone. — Behind tlic 
scenes. — ■* Sound yonr G!" — The mysterious musician, — What 
happened to Billy. — " May the divil fly away wid ye ! " 

AT this time there resided in the paternal home- 
stead a younger brother of Ward Glazier named 
Henry, who was Willard's senior by about eleven 
years, and, physically speaking, was a splendid specimen 
of masculine development. Like his brothers Ward 
and George, he stood six feet in his stockings^ and 
literally looked down on his fellows. 

He had conceived a great liking for his nephew 
Willard, and on many a hunting excursion in the 
Great North Woods, the boy was his only com- 
panion. This affection, however, was not un mingled 
with some contempt for the lad's diminutive stature. 

Upon one occasion, during a visit to West Boyls- 
ton, he made it his business to search out the rela- 
tives of Willard's mother, in order to ascertain what 
sort of stock she came from. On returning home, this 
son of Anak exclaimed, with a dejected air : 

'^Mother, I'll be hanged if I ain't discouraged! 
Our Willard will always be a little runt. His mother's 
folks ain't bigger'u a pinch of sniiflfl ^^ 
(50) 



KAW-SHAWGAN-CE. 51 

How far the prediction has been verified any one 
who has seen the compact, sinewy form of the young 
soldier will understand. 

Henry Glazier reveled in everything sensational. 
His ideal of heaven was a succession of tableaux in 
which he was to play the principal part. 

At one time he joined another eccentric character 
named Toui Lolar, an Indian of the Seneca tribe, whose 
lands in the long ago of Indian history bordered the 
blue waters of Lake Seneca in central New York. 
This peculiar pair proceeded to electrify certain rural 
communities in their immediate neighborhood with huge 
posters, announcing that on a given night : 

KAW-SHAW-GAN-CE, 

OR 

THE RED WILD CAT, 

THE 

Great Chief of the Walaitipu Indlam^, 

Now traveling for the benefit of his tribe, proposes to exhibit to an 

enlightened public the 

Trophies won by his Braves, 

In their battles with other Ferocious Tribes beyond the Kocky 

Mountains, and the Great Chief will likewise give an 

exhibition of the 

WAR DANCES OF HIS NATION. 

Accordingly upon the night in question Tom Lolai 
as " Kav)-shaw-gan-ce,'^ and Henry Glazier as ticket 
agent, reaped sucu an excellent harvest that the latter 
concluded to start a "live Indian'' upon his own 
account. 



52 SWORD AND PEN. 

This he accordnigly did, dubbing the prodigy of 
liis creation " Quaw-taw-pee-ah/' or the " Ked Wild 
Cat." 

AVhether this venture was successful or not we have 
failed to learn, but there is one story connected with it 
which is too good to be lost, though it lacks satisflic- 
tory evidence of authenticity. 

The legend runs that our enterprising manager went 
three miles away and hunted up a genuine old native 
of Erin who had deserted from the British army, 
where he held some position in one of the military 
bands attached to a regiment stationed in Canada. 
With true Irish instinct this exile of Erin had brought 
his trombone across the border, and "the enterprising 
manager" — to use the language of the bills — ^' secured 
in him the services of an eminent musician, lately of 
her Majesty's Royal Band, " to discourse sweet music 
during the entire performance. This and other attrac- 
tive announcements drew a goodly crowd of lads and 
lasses from far and near to the place appointed, and 
when the doors — otherwise tent-flaps — were open, the 
assemblage marched in to the entrancing st»'ains of 
the trombone, as played by " Professor Muldoonati" 
alias Billy Muldoon. 

Everything passed oif well. " Quaw-taw-pee-ah " 
presented to the elite of the locality a type of th.e abor- 
iginal American, which at least possessed the merit 
of originality. If the audience expected to be aston- 
ished they were not disappointed ; for such an Indian 
as they then beheld no living eye had ever looked 
upon before. 

Mr. Catlin would have admitted that this noble red 
man was alien to any of his tribes, and even Cooper's 



Q UA W-TA W-PEE-AIL 53 

Leather-Stocking would have conceded that his was a 
new revelation of savage humanity. It is barely pos- 
sible that Buffalo Bill may have dreamed of something 
like him, and it is not impossible that the late Edwin 
Forrest may have actually been on speaking terms with 
his brother, but outside of these two gentlemen, we do 
not believe that human imagination ever conceived a* 
cliild of the forest in any respect resembling " Quaw- 
taw-pee-ah" on his opening night. 

It did seem a little singular to combine the convivial 
music of '' St. Patrick's day in the morning " with 
such diabolical grimaces and gestures as those which 
the Great Chief used in the })antomimic expression 
of his sentiments. But the people were prepared for 
originality, and they had it. At any rate the perform- 
ance received their loud applause. At last, however, it 
was over : the successive scenes of the programme had 
come and gone — the war dances were finished, the 
curtain had fallen on the last act, and Billy Muldoon's 
trombone had subsided into silence. But if the per- 
formance within was wild, it was nothing to the wild 
night without. It was the seventeenth of March, and 
the snow had been steadily falling since morning, 
shrouding the hills and all the surrounding country 
with a mantle as white and cold as a winding sheet. 

The wind had increased since nightfall, and by the 
time ^^ Quaw-taw-pee-ah " had washed his face of its 
red lead, and Mr. Muldoon had been paid his share of 
the proceeds, it was blowing " great guns," as the 
sailors say. Out into such a night as this the audience 
dispersed : but the lights of home shone through the 
blinding storm near at hand, and buffeting with the 
Scree gusts of whirling snow and wind was only brave 



54 SWORD AND PEN. 

sport for tliem. Not so, liowever, with Mr. Billy Mul- 
doon. His home was three miles away, and though 
the prospect without was anything but pleasant, he 
prepared to face it like a man. His only pre- 
caution was to see that an old army canteen was 
filled afresh with the best whiskey the neighbor- 
hood afforded. Then he started on his homeward 
journey. 

At first it was pretty hard work. The snow had 
drifted into heaps in some places, and rose almost to 
the little man's waist. Still he struggled bravely on, 
only stopping now and then to celebrate the anniversary 
of Ireland's Patron Saint by taking a long pull and 
a strong pull at the canteen. 

For a half-hour or more he made but slow progress 
through the pitiless, pelting storm, and he heartily 
cursed his folly in attempting the task of coming home 
at all, on such a night as this. But a change came 
o'er the spirit of his dream. As the contents of the 
canteen had diminished, Billy's sj)irits had risen in 
exact proportion, his heart had grown strong and he 
began to despise the difficulties in his way. In 
fact he was as happy as a prince, and rather liked 
the idea of facing the snow drifts and fighting the 
wind. So on he went. What seemed strange to 
Billy was the fact that there seemed to be so 
much sameness in the surrounding features of the 
landscape — or so much of it as he could discover, 
during the momentary lulls of the storm. He there- 
fore stopped short, steadied himself for a moment, and 
took another drink; which proceeding seemed to 
clear up his mind on the puzzled subject, for mut- 
tering that it was "all roight,'' he once more started 
forward. 



BILLY MULDOON. 55 

Another half-hour passed and still another, and yet 
Billy found the road open before him, with no sign of his 
own humble little home. He began to grow very 
tired and considerably muddled, and paused at length 
to consider the situation. 

In front of him he perceived something so like the 
lane that led to his own shanty that he joyfully 
proceeded, and at length reached what he believed to 
be a back door that he had directed his wife to leave 
" on the latch " for his return. 

What surprised him was that he could see no light 
within. He was, however, sufficiently aware of the 
fact that he had taken more of ^' the crayther " than 
his good woman would approve of, so not caring to 
wake her up, he stole to the door and tried to lift the 
latch. It was fastened. Everything within was dark 
as Erebus, and not a sound could be heard except the 
low breathing of what he supposed to be his sleeping 
children. This rather excited Billyhs wrath. He had 
been particular in his injunction to leave the door 
unbolted, and it was hard to be kept out in the storm 
on such a night as this. He called out — at first in a 
whisper, then louder and louder — to Kathleen to let 
him in. There was no response. Yet he certainly 
heard the movement of feet within. What could it 
mean? The little man finally swore a big oath and 
fiercely demanded admittance ; but still there came no 
reply. He then essayed to force the door, and to 
his utter amazement the upper part of it gave way, 
opening out like a window-shutter, while the lower 
part remained firm. The musician therefore climbed 
up, and seating himself on the edge of the door, peered 
in. He could see nothing but a black void. To 



56 SWORD AND PEN. 

use his own figure of 3pcecli, "ycz niiglit as well 
hunt for Gineral Washington's will down a black 
clog's throat, as attimpt to see the nose on yer face in 
there ! " 

He was nearly paralyzed with astonishment. Sud- 
denly a bright thought struck him. He raised his 
trombone to his lips, and in spite of the mingled 
emotions that agitated his breast, blew upon it a blast 
loud enough to have waked the dead. 

Imagine therefore how his previous astonishment 
was deepened into almost idiotic wonder when he heard 
a reply from what appeared to be a trombone of more 
gigantic j)ower than his own. "Bur-r-r!" went Mr. 
Muldoon's instrument. 

" Boo-o-o ! " replied the invisible respondent. 

Billy was amazed. Billy was awe-stricken. But 
the instinct of the musician rose above all other 
emotions. 

"Sound your G!" said Billy. 

" Boo-o-o ! " was the answer in a deeper base than 
before. 

"Yer out o' tune, ye domned old fool ! " says Biily. 

" Boo-o-o ! " came the response once more. 

" Sound yerG, and take that, ye murtherin spalpeen !" 
said the now thoroughly exasperated musician, dashing 
his own instrument in the direction of his invisible rival. 

Just then poor Billy saw a ferocious-looking pair of 
eyes glaring at him, and before he had time to add 
another word, some huge object rushed towards him, 
struck him a determined blow, and lifting him off his 
perch sent him into the middle of the road. 

The fact is, Billy had wandered very much out of 
his way, and had mistaken Ward Glazier's barn for 



BILLY AND THE BULL, 57 

his own dwelling. The supposed rival musician was 
our old acquaintance, " Black-face/' the Bull. 

Billy picked himself up from the snow, and, regard- 
less of his bruised body and aching bones, steadied 
himself for a last shot at the enemy. The little man 
looked in the direction where he thought his adversary 
ought to be, and though he could see nothing through 
the darkness and storm, he shouted out, in accents of 
blended dignity and contempt: 

" May the divil fly away wid ye ! Ye may 
be the sthronger of the two, but, be jabers, yer no 
museecian ! " 

How he eventually got home and what were his 
sentiments regarding the adventure with which he had 
met, are facts that do not concern this history ; but it 
is quite probable that he wondered as we have often 
done, that St. Patrick, while engaged in the laudable 
task of expelling snakes from the soil of the Emerald 
Ifele, did not also provide that such reptiles should 
keep out of tlie boots of her sons. 



CHAPTER VI. 

VISIONS OF THE FUTURE. 

The big uncle and the little nephew, — Exchange of ideas between 
tne eccentric Henry Glazier and young Willard. — Inseparable 
companions, — Willard's early reading. — Favorite authors. 
— Hero-worship of the first Napoleon and Charles XII. of 
Sweden. — The genius of good and of evil. — Allen Wight. — A 
born teacher. — Keverses of fortune. — The shadow on the home. 
— Willard's resolve to seek his fortune and what came of 
it. — The sleep under the trees. — The prodigal's return. — "All's 
well that ends well." 

BETWEEN Henry Glazier and young Willard 
a singular friendship had sprung up. The 
great, six-foot uncle and the quaint, old-fasliioned boy 
were much together. 

In the woods and fields, at junketings and oorn- 
huskings, the pair were often seen in grave converse, 
and while Willard was ever eager to hear the stories 
of his uncle's mad adventures and queer scrapes, 
Henry Glazier, in turn, would listen with a species of 
reverent wonder to the child's recital of striking 
passages of history or of fiction which lie had picked up 
in the course of a varied and desultory reading — a 
taste for which was developed oven at that early 
age. The volumes to which he had access were few 
in number, but he had read their pages again and 
again, and the subjects of which they treated were, for 
the most part, of just such a character as were calculated 
(•58) 



ALLEN WIGHT. 59 

to attract the attention of a man of action rather than 
of thought. 

Among them were ''Rollin's Ancient History," 
" Robinson Crusoe," "The Arabian Nights," " Life of 
Charles XII. of Sweden,"" Kossuth and his Generals," 
and " Napoleott and his Marshals,"— everything 
relating to the career of the great Corsican being 
devoured with the greatest avidity. 

He began, of course, by reading the descriptions of 
battles. All boys do so. But gradually his interest 
in such exciting events extended to the actors in them, 
and again to the causes that led to them, and at length 
the books were read from the preface to the end. 

The conversations between the uncle and nephew 
were far from exercising a good influence over the boy. 
If AYillard related some daring deed from the life of 
Charles XII. or of the great Napoleon — his own 
especial hero — his uncle Henry would match it with 
some equally striking, if less civilized adventure in the 
forest or upon the river, in which he or some of his 
whilom associates had played the principal part. All 
this was, to a certain extent, calculated to unsettle 
the lad's mind for the common, routine duties of a 
useful existence. Fortunately, however, at about the 
time that it began to produce that eflPect, another opposite 
and more powerful influence was brought to bear upon 
him which changed the current of his ambition, and 
turned his attention to matters less exciting in their 
character, but destined to exert a much greater 
influence over his future life. I allude to his associ- 
ation with his teacher, Allen Wight. 

The small, plain brick school-house at Little York 
stands there, we believe, to-day as it did then in all 
5 



GO SWORD AND PEN. 

its native and naked ugliness. Sueli a struetnre, 
looking at it rcsthetieally, is not a cheerful siglit to the 
lover of learning, but at that period it was under the 
mastersiiip of a mind of no ordinary calibre. From 
all that we can learn of him, Allen Wiirht was that 
remarkable character — a born cducftor. He did not 
believe his duty was performed by merely drilling his 
pupils, parrot-like, to repeat other men's sentiments. 
He knew that tlie minds of mortals, particularly if 
young and fresh, are as diverse in their springs of action 
as the laws of tlie universe, and he conceived it to be 
his duty to study the individual characteristics of each 
scholar under his charge, as he would have familiarized 
himself with the notes of a piece of music before he 
attempted to play it. His method was that of the 
Jesuit, carried out in a Protestant flishion. In young 
Glazier betook especial interest. He liked the sturdy 
little fellow who, though full of youthful vim, could 
yet sit down and discuss the difference between a 
AFacedonian phalanx as described by Roll in and a 
cojys cVarmce as manoeuvred by Sou It, and he 
determined if possible — to use his own phraseology — 
''to make a man of him." 

His first step was to lead the boy's mind up to a 
habit of reasoning upon the present and the past, and 
n})on the every day world of practical realities with 
which he had to do. When this habit had become 
sufficiently matured in him, the wise teacher told him 
the story of his own life, with its struggles, its disap- 
pointments and its triumphs, thinking thus to stimulate 
his favorite pupil to greater efforts and better achieve- 
ments in the path of knowledge. He talked to young 
Willard as he would have talked to a man, yet with 



SHADOWS ON THE HOMESTEAD. 01 

aII the gentleness of manner lie would have used in 
addressing a woman. Every incentive which he could 
place before the boy, every appeal to both heart and 
brain which he could make, Allen Wight used — as the 
mechanic would use the lever — to bring out all that 
was noblest and best in him — to develop all the 
sleeping possibilities of his young nature. 

Ward Glazier had not been as prosperous in his 
worldly affiiirs as his patriotism and honesty deserved, 
and things at the old ^' Homestead ^' looked rather 
gloomy. Poverty is a fearful darkener of child-life, 
and while its shadow rarely fell on Willard, who was 
always at school or roving the woods and fields with 
his uncle Henry, to his sisters and brothers it 
frequently presented its dark face and whispered un- 
pleasant prophesies of the future. 

Of course it was not that abject kind of poverty 
which stints the supply of food and fire in a house. 
It did not still the prattle of the children, or banish 
childish mirth from the dwelling. It w-as not the 
wolf at the door, but the wolf in tlie dim possible 
distance when the poor father, bent with age, would 
perhaps be unable to keep his little flock together. 
But the boy had never thought of such a possible 
time. His visions of the future were of sio-hts to be 
seen in the great world — of a time when he would be 
large enough and free enough to accompany his uncle 
Henry upon someof his wild adventures among civilized 
or savage races, and of the delights of unlimited books 
to be read upon subjects most congenial to his mind. 
He therefore made no allowance for his father's gloomy 
face and short words, and often thought him stern 
when he was only sad. 



62 SWORD AND PEN. 

A slight incident, however, changed all this and 
compelled him to lace life not as a dream but as a 
reality. One evening Wiilard's father came home very 
tired and somewhat dispirited by some adverse 
circumstances, such as occur in every man's business 
life at times, and of course he was not in the most 
pleasant frame of mind to encounter the petty an- 
noyances of a household. Something that Willard 
said or did, capped the climax of his irritability and 
he called the boy a fool. It was a very unusual thing 
for Ward Glazier to speak with even apparent harsh- 
ness to his children, and the lad felt it, therefore, all 
the more keenly. He became very thoughtful and 
silent, and crept off to bed earlier than usual only to 
lay awake most of the night brooding over the insult, 
and debating within himself what to do in order to 
vindicate his outraged dignity. The conclusion at 
which he finally arrived was that wdien the morning 
came, he would run away from home and seek his 
fortune in the great w^orld. The fact is he had been 
reading*' Robinson Crusoe "but a day or twe previous, 
and that charming story had made a great impression 
on his mind. Under its weird influence his vivid 
imagination conjured up possible scenes of adventure 
in which he was to emulate the courage and sagacity 
of that celebrated truant, and eventually come home, 
as Robinson did, a man full of knowledge with which 
to astonish the family, and with wealth to lavish on 
brothers and sisters, and make comfortable the 
declining years of his parents. *'Then his father 
would not think him a fool," said this youthful logician 
to himself. His active little brain was too highly 
stimulated by his great resolve to permit much sleep 



SEEKS HIS FORTU^^E. (33 

that iiigbt, and his bosom swelled proudly as he thought 
how bravely he would encounter misfortune and face 
danger for the sake of the glorious future he saw in 
the distance. His boyish heart thrilled strangely 
within him as he pictured to himself how full of 
amazement his brothers and sisters would be, when 
they found he had gone forth all alone to seek his 
fortune. Even the little sleep, therefore, that he 
obtained, was but a dreamy repetition of his waking 
thoughte, and when the first gray streak of dawn told 
of the coming day, the boy arose and quietly dressing 
himself for his journey, emerged from the house, 
passed down the avenue under the broad elms and 
struck the highway. He shivered a little as the chill 
air of morning touched his cheek, and his ambitious 
dream did not look quite so glowing and glorious as it 
had done when snugly ensconced in his comfortable 
bed, but still he had a consciousness that he was doing 
something very manly, and he walked on with a firm 
step and determined heart. 

It is true he had no very definite idea of whei^e he 
was going, — he only thought of doing great things and 
seeing strange sights. His whole plan of travel was 
comprehended in the one idea of going out into the 
vjorkl. That was all. Accordingly the youth trudged 
on for miles without weariness, — for his head was still 
thronged ^wth thick coming fancies of the possible 
future that lay before him, and for some time the 
exulting sense of freedom that ever accompanies 
disenthralraent of any kind, thrilled his whole being 
with a firm resolution to accomplish great things. 

At the expiration of a few hours, however, the fatigue 
involved in so unusual a tramp before breakfast, begau 



Gl 8V/0RD AND PEN. 

to loll upon liim, and as lie mechanically slackened Lis 
2)acc, Ills reflections assumed a less jubilant and less 
satisfactory character. He had walLed nearly fourteen 
miles and was already footsore. "Going out into the 
^yorld/^ began to seem, not quite so cnclianting a 
proceeding as it had appeared to be at starting. For 
the first time since the idea of "seeking his fortune ^^ 
had entered liis mind, lie asked himself where he was 
to seek it. 

The reply to this inquiry was not easy. Meanwhile 
the sun had mounted high up in the heavens and was 
shining brightly, the birds were singing their matin 
songs, and in the roadside pastures the cattle were 
quietly grazing. It was a peaceful, pastoral scene, but 
its peace did not enter the heart of the wanderer. 
Somehow the world did not appear half so attractive 
in his eyes as it had looked when he stole forth from 
liis father's gate in the cold gray of the morning 
twilight. His stej), therefore, was less elastic and his 
bearing less assured now than then, and at length he 
sat down under a large beech-tree by the roadside, to 
reflect upon the situation. He began to feel very 
weary, and the sudden transition from action to repose 
induced a drowsiness that in a few minutes overcame 
his waking sense and launched him into the sea of 
forgetful ness. The young head sank lower and lower 
on his breast, and finally, sleep . . . "that knits up 
the ravelled sleeve of care," ..." sore labor's bath, 
balm of hurt minds, great Nature's second course," 
came to him unawares, and for some hours he was 
totally oblivious of all surroundings. 

It was a dreamless sleep, and noon had come when 
lie awoke. For a few moments he was unable to 



WISE REFLECTIONS. C5 



recll where lie was or how lie had come there, but in 
a very short time the recollection of everything that 
had happened to him since the evening before s\Yept 
over his mind like a flood. Every circumstance now, 
however, was viewed in a far different light. Somehow, 
the provocation which had sent him into the wide 
world to seek his fortune did not seem half so ixreat as 
it had seemed only the night before. The example of 
De Foe's hero was not so completely alluring, and a 
portion of that history which tlic evening previous he 
had not deemed worthy of a thought, now rose vividly 
before him. ITe seemed to read again these words : 

" My father, a grave, wise man, gave me serious and 
excellent counsel against what he saw was my design, 
lie told me it was for men of desperate fortunes on the 
one hand, or of aspiring superior fortunes on the other, 
who went abroad upon adventures, to rise by enterprise 
and make themselves famous in undertakings of a 
nature out of tlie common road: that these things were 
all either too far above me, or too far below me: that 
mine was the middle state or what might be called the 
upper station of humble life, which he had found by 
long ex])erience was the best state in the world, the 
most suited to human happiness. The wise man gave 
his testimony to this when he prayed to have ^neither 
l)overtv nor riclies."' And then came the thoug-ht 
that all that Robinson ever gained in fame or fortune, 
failed to still the quiet but terrible whisper of his con- 
science whenever he thought of those he had abandoned 
for a roving life. So intently did he think upon these 
things, he seemed actually to behold the wanderer upon 
his sea-girt island with lawless AVilj Atkins and the 
gentle French i)riest beside him, while the words of the 



QQ SWORD AND PEN. 

repentant mutineer seemed to be hissed into his ear : — 
" No, sir, I did not cut his throat, but I cut the throat 
of all his comforts. I shortened his days and I broke 
his heart by the most ungrateful, unnatural return, for 
the most tender and affectionate treatment that father 
ever gave or child could receive." Young Willard 
could not but remember that his parents had been 
most kind and tender, that his father had lavished 
upon him during all the years of his childhood a most 
prodigal wealth of affection : and the one harsh epithet 
he had received seemed as nothing among the multitude 
of kind and loving words that had never been withheld 
from him. His heart told him that something deeper 
than any ordinary woe would darken his mother's 
quiet face when she beheld his empty chair and realized 
that he had gone, perhaps never to return, without one 
farewell word to her. Such reflections as these, that 
he wondered had not occurred to him before, now took 
possession of his mind and, impelled by their influence, 
he arose and slowly started back towards home. As 
he came within sight of the old place he saw his 
father in the distance reaping, and the sight filled him 
with gladness. 

*' From the top of the road, through the gap was seen 

Down a zigzag road cut up by rills, 
The velvet valley cradled between 

Dark double ridges of 'elm' clad hills; 
And just beyond, on the sunniest slope, 

"With its windows aglint in the sunset warm, 
In the spot where he first knew life and hope, 

Was the dear old house of the ' Homestead ' farm." 

But he was not just then in a frame of mind to 
meet the parental eye, and he therefore skirted round 
a piece of woods which concealed him from his father's 



REMORSE. 67 

view and reaching the door unobserved, crept into the 

house. 

Though his absence had been discovered, and its 
cause, if not known, at least shrewdly suspected, his 
father and mother in their reception of him very 
wisely ignored all knowledge of his truancy and treated 
the young prodigal with such unusual marks of kind- 
ness and indulgence, that he was completely melted, 
and felt, with keen remorse, that he had been upon 
the eve of becoming a most wretched ingrate. The 
lesson of the experiment was not lost upon him, and 
he never again tried the foolish venture. 



CHAPTER yil. 

WILLARD GLAZIER AT HOME. 

Oat ot 6oylioo(l. — Days of adolescence. — True family pride. — 
Scheirtes for the future. — \Villard as a temperance advocate. — 
Watering his grandfather's whiskey. — The pump behind the hill. 
The .sleigh ride by night. — The "shakedown" at Edwards. — 
— Intoxicated by tobacco fumes. — The return ride. — Landed in a 
.snow-Dank. — Good-bye horses and sleigh ! — Plodding througii the 
snow. 

WARD GLAZIER— putting liis tlieories to the 
test of practice — believed it l)est to allow the 
error of his son to work out its own i)iuiishment, with- 
out adding a word to indicate that he knew it had been 
coniniitted. The wisdom of such reticence is not often 
recognized by parents placed in similar circumstanceSj 
but it would perhaps be better for the children if it 
were. At the same time the father thought it expe- 
dient to apprise Allen Wight of the matter. That 
gentleman readily acquiescing in his j)lans, saw in the 
recoil which would ])robably succeed such an escapade 
in the mind of a sensitiv^e and generous boy, the op- 
portunity he sought to arouse him to a sense of the 
duties that lay before him in his future career, in 
living a useful and worthy life. 

One afternoon, therefore, when they were enjoying a 

(piiet chat after school Jiours, he managed — without 

the slightest allusion to the runaway freak — to turn 

the conversation to the sid>ject of '^ self-made men.'" 

(68) 



SELF-MADE MEN. 69 

Nut, be It understood, that species of fungi who only 
]ovc their maker, because being 

">Se//'-made, se//"-traine(l, se//-satisfied," 
they are 

" Themselves tlieir only daily boast and pride." 

Not the Randall Leslies, or the Peter Firkins of the 

world or that other 

" Score of Peter Funks, 
Of the mock-raining stamp, who deal in chunks 
Of confidence, ores and metals as examples 
And sell the bowels of the earth bysam])les;" 

but that higher race who have achieved noble things 
despite all the drawbacks of poverty and friendlessness. 

He spoke of Clive, the Shropshire farmer's son, 
who, according to the greatest of modern historians, 
equalled Lucullus in war and Tergot in peace; that 
reformer who out of the discordant elements of an Indian 
ochlocracy consolidated and perfected an empire, one 
of the most splendid the world contains. 

He spoke, too, of that other Indian rider wdio as 
he lay dreaming a boy's day-dream one holiday, upon 
the bank of a stream that flowed through Daylesford 
Manor — the manor which one ancestor's sword had 
won and another ancestor's folly had lost — the boy 
formed a scheme of life that culminated in the exten- 
sion of the same empire beyond all previous expecta- 
tion, and in linking his own name so inseparably with 
the story of his country, that no man can write the 
history of England without writing the life of 
Warren Hastings, 

Other examples of great ends achieved with little 
means, by men in our own land, w^ere talked over. 

Franklin the bo\j, walking up Market street, Phila- 



70 SWORD AND PES. 

delpliia, a penny-roll under each arm and muncliing a 
third, under the laughing observation of Miss Read, 
his future wife — and Franklin the sage and Minister, 
representing his government at the most elegant court 
in Euroi)e, were contrasted for his edification. Various 
modern instances were added, Mr. Wight keeping in 
view Pope's axiom that 

** Men must be taught as if you taught ihem not, 
And things unknown proposed as things forgot." 

When the boy's mind had been sufficiently awakened 
he followed the advice of the old adage to '^strike 
while the iron is hot," and impressed upon him the fact 
that being the eldest son he v/as naturally th(} prop of his 
hoiise; nor did he ignore the truth, unpalatable as it 
might be, that Willard could hope for no material aid 
from the hands of his parents. He must carve his 
own way. He must build even the ladder up which 
he was to climb. Others had done so — why not he? 
And then he told him that the way to do it successfully 
was to acquire knowledge and cultivate wisdom ; for 

" Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, 
Have, oft times, no connection. 
Knowledge dwells in the thoughts of other men, 
Wisdom in minds attentive to their own." 

Working upon what he rightly conjectured to be the 
boy's newly awakened sense of the kindness of his 
father, he spoke of that good man's peciniiary reverses, 
and i)rofessed his faith in Willard as the future regen- 
erator of the fallen fortunes of Ward Glazier's family. 

The boy's generous enthusiasm was awakened at 
once. His ordinary school tasks and home duties no 
longer looked commonj>lace, and were no longer dis- 



HIE DliiyiTY OF DUTY. 71 

tasteful to him. They were but incidents in a general 
j>lan of usefuhiess, and he performed them witli an air 
of cheer fuhiess that pleased his teacher and delighted 
his parents. He volunteered to help his father in the 
fields, and while but a boy in years, he yet performed 
the work of a man. In f\\ot, he had discovered that 
every duty of life has its heroic side, and needs only 
the impulse of high and noble motives to be invested 
with dignity and Interest. 

Meanwhile, he did not neglect his studies. The 
idea of intellectual culture was no longer a mere ab- 
straction. Books were not only what they always had 
l^een— reservoirs of knowledge, alluring to his Imag- 
ination, and fascinating to his mind— but they were 
now looked \ipon as levers, with which he was to move 
the world. Knowledge now meant the means whereby, 
in the days to come, he was to acquire the power to 
make his father and mother comfortable for the balance 
of their lives: and to surround his sisters with 
those luxuries which go far towards making exist- 
ence a thing of grace and refinement. When, 
therefore, he worked during the warm days of 
summer, aiding his father In the care of the farm, the 
summer evenings found him poring earnestly over 
his books— i)ractical and useful ones now — and the 
harvest once gathered, he was back again in his old 
])lace at school, where he studied steadily and hard. 
His teacher, Allen Wight, looked on and was satisfied. 
And yet Wlllard was a wild boy— as wild as any in 
the school. His relish for fun and frolic was as keen 
as ever, but it was now subordinated to his judgment. 
His practical jokes were fewer, and the peculiarities 
of his father no longer furnishe<l him witli a suljcct 



72 SWORD AND PEN. 

foi" their perpetration. Now and then, however, tlie 
old exnberanee of mischief would break out, and upon 
one occasion his grandfather became its victim. 

As that mosaic styled "character" is nothing moro 
than an aggregate of just such trivial things, we trust 
our readers will pardon us if we relate the incident in 
point. 

When Willard was over nine years of age, his 
father moved from the Old Homestead and purchased 
a place named the Goodrich Farm, where he opened 
a country store. The venture proved to be an un- 
fortunate one, and, after a series of pecuniary vicis- 
situdes, he left it, and, at the period to which we refer, 
was the occupant of a farm known in that section as 
the Davis Place. 

This farm and the Glazier Homestead occupied 
positions upon opposite sides of the same public road — 
the former being one mile nearer the town of FuUers- 
ville. 

Meantime, the Homestead was occupied and cul- 
tivated by Jabez Glazier, the grandfather of AVil- 
lard, and upon certain occasions the boy was sent 
over to stay for a few days at that place, to help the 
old gentleman in many little ways connected with its 
cultivation. 

At that time and in that locality it was customary 
during the haying season to deal out to the men em- 
ployed stated rations of whiskey every day. A bottle 
was filled for each one, and, being })laced by the re- 
cipient in a swathe of the newly-cut grass, frequent 
visits were made to the spot and frequent libations 
indulged in. Ward Glazier and his wife being deter- 
minedly opposed to the use of ardent spirits under any 



WATER VERSUS "OLD RYE." 73 

circumstances whatever, the custom wrs dispensed with 
at the Davis Place; but at the Old Homestead, 
under the rule of Jabez Glazier, the time-honored 
usage was staunchly maintained. Young Willard had 
been so deeply inoculated with his parents' opinions on 
this subject, that he had delivered an address before 
the society of ''Sons of Temperance" at Fullersville 
even at that early age, and his disgust may be imag- 
ined when he found himself selected by his grandfather 
to go to the village tavern for the necessary quantity of 
" Old Kye.'' He asked that some other messenger 
might be sent, but the old gentleman was inflexible. 
Nobody but AYillard would satisfy his whim — perhaps 
because he felt that, in the custody of his grandson, 
the "fire-water '^ would not be tampered with on its 
return to the farm. Willard did not openly rebel 
against his grandfather's commands — since it was the 
fashion in those days for children to be obedient — but 
turned his attention to gaining his object by means of 
a little strategy. Xot far from the house on the road 
leading to the store stood an old pump, concealed from 
view by an intervening building and a rising hill. 
Here this youthful disciple of Father Mathew made 
it a practice regularly to stop, and pouring out half 
the contents of the jug he carried, refilled it with the 
crystal liquid from the pump. 

At first this improvement in their potations seemed 
hardly to attract the attention of the individuals in- 
terested ; but, as each day the proportion of water 
increased, the dilution at last forced itself upon their 
attention, and every one agreed that the tav^ern-keeper 
was cheating Jabez in the " Rye " business. The 
result of it all was the withdrawal of Jabez Glazier's 



74 SWORD AND PEN, 

custom from the eritablisliment in question, and the 
future ])urc'hase of "spiritual" goods by Mr. Jabez 
himself in person. 

Tluis AVillard's object was attained, and the cold- 
water people were no longer vexed by the inconsistent 
spectacle of a son of temperance playing Ganymede to 
a set of drinking, though by no means drunken, 
hay-makers. 

Not often, now, did young Willard figure as chief 
in any mad scrape or wild boyish adventure. Those 
times were left behind. Once, indeed, his uncle 
Henry, the patron of the great chief ^^ Kaw-shaw-gan- 
c^," swooped down upon the household, and, in an 
enormous four-horse sleigh of his own construction, 
took him, togetlier with a gay and festive party of lads 
and lasses, off to Edwards, a village nine miles away. 
Here the rustic party had a " shake-down," and young 
AVillard got fearfully sick in a dense atmosphere of 
tobacco smoke. The feast over, he was tightly packed 
in the sleigh with the buxom country girls and their 
muscular attendants, while Henry Glazier drove across 
country through a blinding snow-storm and over 
measureless drifts. The party was stranded at last 
on a rail fence under the snow, and the living freight 
flung bodily forth and buried in the deep drifts. They 
emerged from their snowy baptism with many a laugh 
and scream and shout, and tramped the remainder of 
the distance home. The horses having made good 
their escape, Willard was carried forward on his uncle 
Henry's back. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ADVENTURES — EQUINE AND BOVINE. 

Ward Glazier movei=? to the Davis Place. — "Far in the lane e 
lonely house he found." — Who was Davis? — Description of the 
place. — A wild spot for a home. — Willard at work. — Adventure 
with- an ox-team. — The road, the bridge and the stream. — "As an 
ox thirsteth for the water." — Dashed from a precipice ! — Wil- 
lard as a horse-tamer. — "Chestnut Bess," the blooded mare.— 
The start for home. — " Bess "on the rampage. — A lightning dash. 
— The stooping arch. — Bruised and unconscious. 

IT will be remembered that when AVard Glazier left 
the Homestead, he removed to a neighboring 
farm known as the Goodrich Place, — a fine, com- 
fortable, well-stocked and well-tilled farm, present- 
ing an appearance of prosperity to the eye of the 
observer and calcnlated to make the impression that its 
owner must be well-to-do in the world. As we have 
heretofore hinted, however, Ward Glazier failed to 
prosper there. Why this was the case it is hard to tell. 
A late writer has suggested that " not only the higher in- 
tellectual gifts but even the finer moral emotions are an 
incumbrance to the fortune-hunter." That ** a gentle 
disposition and extreme frankness and generosity have 
been the ruin in a w^orldly sense of many a noble 
spirit;" and he adds that "there is a degree of 
cautiousness and distrust and a certain insensibility 
and sternness that seem essential to a man who has to 
bustle through the world and engineer his own affairs," 
6 (75) 



7^ SWORD AND PEN. 

— and if he be right, the matter may be easily 
understood. 

However that may be, lie failed to prosper, and as 
business misfortunes began to fall thick and fast upon 
his head, he gave up the farm to his creditors, togctiier 
with all his other effects, and took up his abode at 
the Davis Place. 

Who the particular Davis was whose name clung to 
the place we have been unable to ascertain, but when 
Ward Glazier moved there, the house seemed fairly to 
scowl upon the passer-by — so utterly unprepossessing 
was its appearance. A rude, capacious wooden structure, 
it stood fronting the highway, and was a place where 
the beautiful had no existence. The very soil looked 
black and rough — the vegetation ragged. Every 
inclosure was of stone or knotted timber, and even a 
dove-cot which in its fresher days some hand had 
placed upon the lawn, was now roofless and shattered, 
and lay prone upon the ground, a shapeless mass of 
collapsed boards. The lawn — if snch it could be 
named — resembled a bleak shore, blackened with 
stranded wrecks of ships whose passengers had long 
years before gone down at sea. The broken windows 
in the dormitories were festooned with cobwebs that 
had housed long lines of ancestral spiders, and where 
a pane or two of glass remained among the many 
empty frames, one fancied a gibbering spectre might 
look out from the gloomy depths behind. 

The back-ground against which this bleak and 
sombre place was thrown was no less grim and stern. 
Huire rocks in tiers, like stone coffins, rose in fierce 
ranges one above another u]) and up — back and far- 
ther back until they reached a point from wdience a 



THE DAVIS PLACE. 77 

miniature forest of dwarf beech and maples, that 
a})[)earc(l to erown the topmost bastion of them all, 
nodded in the swaying wind like funeral plumes upon 
a Titan's hearse. 

In fact, the only gleam of light ui)on the place — 
and it was a crazy, fitful gleam at that— came from a 
rushing stream that took its source high up among the 
hills. This brook first seen off* to the extreme left of 
the house, came dashing down the rocks until it 
reached a level. Then, swinging round with sudden 
swirl it engirdled the place, and after many a curious 
twist and turn got straight again and went onward far 
off among the neighboring fields and lost itself at last 
in the Oswegatchie. The interior of the house was 
Just as wild and dreary as the exterior. The rooms, 
for the most part, were too large for comfort. When 
one spoke, a dozen ghostly echoes answered, and at 
twilight the smaller children huddled around the 
kitchen fire and seldom went beyond that cheerful room 
until bed time. Often, in the dead of night, the 
creaking of timber and the voices of the wind startled 
the little ones from sleep, and a sense of something 
unreal and mysterious overshadowed their young 
minds. 

It was, take it all in all, a grim, gaunt, strange place 
in which to fix a home. It was there, however, in the 
midst of such sterile surroundings, that the next five 
years of Wi Hard's life were maiidy passed. There 
were no external influences brought to bear upon this 
])ortion of his existence that were not harsh and wild 
and stern. His father, honest even to the verge of 
fanaticism, was letting his heart corrode to bitterness 
under the sense of hopeless indebtedness. The churlish 



78 SWORD AND PEN. 

fields attached to the place offered but a grudging re- 
ward for the hardest labor. There was no lioj)e of his 
acquiring a profession or even an education beyond the 
scant opportunity of Allen Wight's school, unless he 
himself could earn the means to pay for it. Still he 
was neither discouraged nor without hope. Instead of 
sinking under this accumulation of difficulties, his 
moral fibre was rendered more robust, and with it his 
physical strength and usefulness developed daily. 

Thus a year sped on, and at the end of that time his 
fjither, as one means of adding something to his scanty 
resources, obtained the job of hauling a quantity of iron 
ore from the ore beds near Little York to a forge and 
furnace at Fullersville. Willard with an ox-team and 
his uncle Henry with a span of fine horses, were 
em])loyed for the most part to do the actual hauling. 

By this time Willard was quite familiar with the 
management of horses, and he had also learned to drive 
oxen, so that at the age of thirteen he worked with his 
ox-team as regularly and almost as efficiently as any 
of his grown-up uncles or even his father. The man- 
agement of an ox-team, by the way, is quite different 
from that of horses, and at times it becomes very trouble- 
some business, requiring for its successful accomplish- 
ment the very nicest admixture of courage, coolness and 
discretion. Willard, however, with the self-reliance that 
always characterizes a boy of his age, never for a moment 
doubted that he was adequate to the task, and as he 
liad been placed in charge of a very fine yoke of oxen, 
took much pride in driving them in the same manner 
as he would have driven a span of horses, seated 
on the top of his load upon the wagon instead of being 
on foot and close by their heads, as prudence would 



ECCENTRICITIES OF AN OX-TEAM, 79 

have taught an older driver to do. The truth is, that 
if there was any human being before whom the boy de- 
lighted to exhibit himself as doing a manly part in his 
little circle of existence, that being was Henry Glazier. 

Consequently, when his uncle's team was on the 
road. Master Willard took a position upon his own 
load with as important an air as if he were on the box 
of a coach-and-four, and guided his cattle as if they 
were animals of the most docile disposition, to halt at 
his whisper or proceed at his word. As the principal 
part of the work was performed at midsummer under 
the rays of a scorching sun, the cattle were, of course, 
irritable and restive to a degree that in colder weather 
would have seemed inconsistent with the phlegmatic 
characteristics of their race. 

The road from Little York to Fullersville is a 
winding, narrow road, somewhat hilly in places, and 
neither very smooth nor level at any point. Midway 
between the two villages a brawling stream crosses the 
road, and making a turn empties itself, at the distance 
of about thirty yards, into the waters of the Oswegat- 
chie. This stream is spanned by a rustic bridge at a 
very considerable elevation above the water. The 
banks are high and abrupt, and, as the traveler ap- 
])roaches them, he cannot fail to be attracted by the 
silvery sparkle of the waters far below. The view 
from the bridge takes in the white farm-houses with 
their emerald setting of rich grain-fields and meadow- 
lands, the distant forge with its belching smoke-stacks, 
the winding Oswegatchie, and the distant blue hills. 
If the month happens to be August, the traveler may 
hear the cheerful hum of busy industry, the swinging 
cradles of the harvesters or the steady roll of the 



so . SWORD AND PEN. 

reaper. Upon a day, late in this richest of summer 
montlis — August — in the year of our Lord 1854, 
Willard and his uncle Henry were slowly wending 
tlieir way towards Fullersville — the former with his 
ox-team and the latter -with a spanking span of 
horses. The beasts of burden by their drooping heads 
and slow pace evinced the fact that the loads of 
ore tliey were drawing ^vere unusually heavy, and 
this, combined with the sultry atmosphere, was telling 
upon the strength of even such powerful beasts as 
they. 

Wiilard, as usual, was seated upon the top of his 
load, and, as they neared the bridge, despite liis 
familiarity with every detail of the scene, a sense of its 
exquisite beauty took possession of him, and, for a 
moment, lie forgot that he was driving an ox-team. 
For a moment he was oblivious to the fact that it 
takes all a driver's care and skill to prevent mischief 
whenever a thirsty ox obtains a glimpse of water upon 
a summer's day. As they neared the bridge, the 
fevered eyes of the cattle caught sight of the limpid 
stream away down below, and, just as a cry of warn- 
ing from his uncle recalled the boy to a sense of the 
deadly peril of his ])osition, the cattle made an oblique 
plunge over the edge of the bank with tw^o tons of 
iron-ore in lumps varying from five pounds to fifty, 
pouring: a luitxe and deadly hail over their reckless 

lot? ^ 

heads. AVith rare i)resence of mind for a boy of his 
age, the instant he heard his uncle's warning cry, 
Wiilard realized the situation and jumped sideways 
from the wagon. As he did so, his hat fell off and 
rolled a short distance away. At the same moment a 
?ump of ore, weighing not less than one-hundred pounds, 




TiiAGIC EXPERIENCE WITH AN OX-TEAM. 



A NARROW ESCAPE. 81 

fell upon it and crushed it so deeply into the ground 
that it was completely hidden from view. Many months 
afterwards, some boys digging for fish-bait found the 
hat buried there, and returned to the village with 
a tale of some possible and unknown murder, com- 
mitted when or by whom no one could tell. 

As for the boy himself, lie escaped with only a 
scratch or two and a few bruises, but that he escaped 
with his life or with sound limbs was almost a miracle; 
and, as his big-hearted uncle j)icked him up, he hugged 
the lad as one snatched from the very jaws of death. 
AVillard was somewhat awed by the narrowness of his 
escape, and it was observed that his face wore an ex- 
pression a shade graver than was its wont for several 
days after the occurrence. 

The lesson, however, made no lasting impression. 
Scarce a week liad gone by ere his life was once more 
imperilled, and this time the danger resulted from his 
own reckless over-confidence in himself. 

It is a singular fact in the boy's history that every 
danger to which at this period of his life he was 
exposed, seems to have been twin-brother to some 
other liazard equally great, and which tripped upon 
its very heels. 

As already stated, Willard was a good horseman for 
a boy of his age. He possessed considerable nerve, 
and, having been brought up among horses, knew a 
good deal about their ways. But his real knowledge 
upon the subject was nothing to that which he thought 
he possessed ; and, though a stout little fellow, of 
course he lacked the muscle of steel that is required 
to master an enraged horse. But he had never hesi- 
tated to ride any steed in all that neighborhood, with 



82 SWORD ASD PEN. 

the siiuxle exception of one of a pair of extremely 
beautiful but vicious marcs, which on account of her 
color was named " Chestnut Bess." 

This horse was as wild and untamed as the fa- 
n^ous steed of IMazeppa, and even Henry Glazier, 
master-horseman though he was, seldom attempted to 
use this one, except in harness with her mate. The 
knowledge of this fact excited an overweening desire 
in Willard's breast to show them what he could do in 
the way of taming the hitherto untamed creature, and 
never having been unliorsed in his life, he determined, 
upon the first favorable opportunity, to try his powers 
upon the vicious animal. That opportunity was not 
long in coming. One summer morning it was ar- 
ranged that Willard should go over to his grandfather's 
and aid in the cultivation of a large corn-field on 
the Homestead Farm. Willard made up his mind 
that, if he went, he would go in style on the 
back of " Chestnut Bess." He wauted to show his 
Uncle Henry and the others what the *' little runt'^ 
was capable of accomplishing as an equestrian. Ac- 
cordingly, he placed a good strong bridle U])ou the 
mare's head, gave an extra pull at the saddle-girth to 
assure himself there was no possibility of that failing 
him, and, taking a hoe, which he wished to use in his 
work on the farm, in his right hand, he led the mare 
quietly down the path, out through the gate, and into 
the road. Gathering the reins in his left hand, with- 
out giving her time to conjecture his object — for 
mounting her was no easy task — he jumped lightly 
Into the saddle, and screwed his knees into her sides 
with all his might. 

Now, this mare was not one of those ordinary 



" CHESTNUT BESS:' 83 

quadrupeds possessing a single vice, which Ihe rider 
may learn and master. She was an animal of infinite 
resources. Her modes of attack were innumerable. 
It is true she rather preferred to settle matters upon 
the very tlireshold of the contest in a short, sharp 
way, by kicking her man before he coukl mount. 
But, if baffled in this design, she woukl vary the pro- 
ceedings by dashing her head down between her knees, 
sending her heels U}) in the air, and, if possible, plunge 
the rider over her head to the ground ; or, she would 
waltz round on her liind legs in such a way as to 
render the best balanced brain somewhat dizzy and 
uncertain ; in the event of the failure of these coquet- 
tish pleasantries, she had not a single scruple against 
])laying Shylock, and taking her pound of flesh out of 
liis leg with her teeth. Thus, you '^ee, it would not 
do to go to sleep upon her back ; and ]Master Wiilard 
Glazier no sooner found himself firmly seated than he 
made up his mind that for the time, at least, he had 
his hands full of business. As the mare had been 
deprived of an opportunity to kick him, by the sud- 
denness with which he sprang upon her back, she 
concluded to try her next favorite line of strategy and 
shake him off. So down went her head and up w^ent 
lier heels, and, had he been less on the alert, he must 
liave gone to earth ; but, with his knees dug into her 
sides as if they were the opposite jaws of a vice, for 
every jerk of her head down he gave one with the 
reins icp^ and at each jerk the hoe-handle gave her a 
rap over the ears, so that she began to find the fun 
less agreeable than usual. Changing her tactics, with 
a bound she proceeded to execute a fine imitation of 
the ''German," and spin round like a Fifth Avenue 



84 SWORD AND PEN. 

belle or a humming-top. But the boy's young, clear, 
temperate brain anil well-disciplined nerv^es were 
]>roof even against this style of attack, and still firm in 
liis seat, he belabored the brute with his hoe with such 
a j)erfect rain of blows that she gave up her prancing 
and dashed down the road at a break-neck pace. For 
perhaps five hundred yards the road led down hill, 
and then, crossing a stream, ascended again, the ascent 
being quite steep and by no means smooth. 

While upon the descent, it was all Willard could do 
to hold on, for he was encumbered with the hoe, 
which at every jump of the mare struck the top of her 
head, until she absolutely flew. The few pedestrians 
upon the road that morning stopped in amazement to 
stare after the mad flight of horse and rider. 

As soon as the bridge was crossed and they com- 
menced the abruj)t rise, '^Chestnut Bess" began to 
blacken her pace, but the young gentleman, who by 
this time considered himself her master, would not 
agree to this. He proposed to give her a lesson, so he 
administered a good thrashing with his novel style of 
whip and compelled her to keep her pace all the 
way to the top of the hill, where horse and rider at 
length arrived in safety. From that point to the Old 
Homestead the mare was perfectly willing to jog 
along quietly, and when they reached \\\q farm you 
may be sure that the *^spirit" of one " mortal'' at 
least was " proud," as he related to his wondering 
kinsman how he had taken the mischief out of the 
chestnut mare. 

The boy rose immeasurably in his uncle Henry's 
estimation by this feat, and all were delighted with his 
pluck, though Jabez Glazier, his grandfather, with his 



HORSE-TAMLSG. 85 

greater experience, warned him not to trust the beast 
too far, for, according to his belief, her eye had danger 
in it yet. When the day of work was ended, Willard 
once more mounted upon " Chestnut Bess '^ and rode 
towards home. For a short time the mare trotted 
quietly along, and the boy was more than ever 
convinced that he had broken her of her tricks. 

This agreeable belief however was of short duration. 
The thought had hardly entered his head when she 
commenced her antics again. Her heels went sky- 
ward and her nose went down, and a repetition of the 
morning's performances succeeded. 

There was quite as much vigor and pertinacity in her 
movements as if she were just starting out for the day. 
This time Willard had provided himself with a stout 
beech switch, and used its stinging persuasion with good 
effect. Slie danced, she pranced, she waltzed, she 
made sudden dashes and full stops. She would have 
rolled in the gravel if the boy's switch had ceased 
stinging her into motives for action, but she could 
not shake him off. He clung to her back like a 
little leech, and it began to look as if human will- 
power was going to conquer brute stubbornness, when 
suddenly a new idea seemed to enter the animal's head. 
Without a moment's warning, and utterly scorning 
the control of the bit which she had taken in her 
teeth, she swung round and at full gallop made 
straight for the Homestead farm from which she 
had so lately come. The farm-yard gate was wide 
open and she dashed in, making directly for the 
wagon-shed at the extreme end of the place, which was 
now empty. This shed, the top of which was sup- 
ported by a cross-beam, was only just high enough to 



^ , ^WOEI) AND PEN. 

permit a wagon to be sheltered there, and if the horse 
got in, Willard saw at a glance that she would be 
oblitrcd to lower her head to do so, and that in the 
course of her entry he must incvitaMy strike the beam 
and perhaps be instantly killed or swept off her back 
upon a piie of rocks that on either side walled the en- 
trance to the shed. 

His heart for once failed him, for there seemed no 
earthly hope of escape. There was no time to spring 
off, even if tJie speed at which he was going would have 
permitted him to do so, for in a shorter time than it 
has taken to describe the scene, the shed was reached, 
bang went the mare's head against the opposite end, 
and at the same instant Willard felt a dull thud 
against his person, realized the fact that he was being 
thrown into the air, and then came darkness and un- 
consciousness, He was dashed violently uj en the 
stones, and when ])icked up his body was found to be 
much lacerated and bruised. 

Fortunately, however, no bones were broken, though 
lie was ol)liged to keep his bed for some days after- 
wards. Xo doubt while lying there during slow con- 
valescence he mused upon the vicissitudes attendant 
upon the career of a horse-tamer. At all events from 
this time he became much steadier and more prudent, 
— the wild adventures of his earlier boyhood having 
entirely lost their attraction for him. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE YOUNG TRAPPER OF THE OSWEGATCHIE. 

k plan of life. — Determination to procure an education. — A sub- 
stitute at tlie plow. — His father acquiesces in iiis determination 
to become a trapper. — Life in the wild woods along the Oswegat- 
chie.— The six "dead-falls." — First success. — A fallacious calcu- 
lation. — The goal attained. — Seventy-five dollars in hard cash ! — 
Four terms of academic life. — The youthful rivals. — Lessons in 
elocution.— A fight with hair-brushes and chairs! — "The walk- 
ing ghost of a kitchen fire." — Renewed friendship.— Teaciiing 
to obtain means for an education. 

4 T this period of Willard's life, he is described by 
-■^^ Mr. Rennehan as having acquired an appetite 
for the acquisition of knowledge which soon became 
the controlling passion of his nature, and, '' thoroughly 
absorbed by this idea, he fixed upon the select school 
of his native town as the institution best adapted to 
initiate him in the course suited to the fulfilment of 
his laudable ambition.'' 

But his determination to procure an education 
met with obstacles from the outset. How to defray 
the necessary expenses which such a course involved 
was the question wliich continually presented itself for 
his ingenuity to solve. His father's reverses placed it 
quite beyond the possibilities to hire help upon the 
farm, and Willard's services had therefore come to be 
looked upon as something of vital importance. 

In dragging from the hard soil of the Davis place 

(87) 



88 SWORD AND PEN. 

the living whicli necessity compelled, he performed the 
work of a man, and the perfect trnst which his father 
reposed in him gave his services additional value. 

This fact increased the difficulty of his position ; 
but though he made it a point to husband all his spare 
time for self-instruction, he was far from satisfied with 
the existing state of affairs, and pondered long and 
earnestly over the best means of securing the advan- 
tages of regular instruction. 

At that time the streams tributary to the St. Law- 
rence were supplied with such fur-bearing animals as 
the mink, the musk-rat, the otter, and the more hum- 
ble rabbit, the skins of all of which were more or 
less valuable and were hunted by professional trappers. 
These men found the business a reasonably lucrative 
one, and it commended itself especially to Willard, 
as health and strength were the only capital required. 
The grand difficulty was how to supply his place in 
the w^ork of the farm. His father was a man who 
always listened with patience and sympathy to any 
scheme that j)romised to benefit his children. His 
son, therefore, had no hesitation in laying the whole 
matter before him and seeking his advice upon the 
subject. He felt, of course, that any projx)sal to 
withdraw his personal labor from the common stock 
of exertion by which the cultivation of the farm was 
rendered a possibility, was a direct pecuniary tax upon 
his father's resources; but he believed he could to a 
great extent neutralize the injury by supplying a sub- 
stitute. 

He also felt assured that although the stt^p he pro- 
posed to take might be a present loss to the family it 
would prove an ultimate gain. He was thoroughly 



THE YOUNG TRAPPER. gg 

determined to make his life a success, and he was just as 
thoroughly determined that any success which might 
crown his efforts should be shared by his parents. It 
is true that the road looked long and the path rough, 
but he had a " heart for any fate/' and his courage 
never failed. A substitute at the plow he knew he 
could obtain for a small sum, and the board of such 
a person would take the place of his own at the home 
table, and he never doubted that he could earn a suffi- 
cient surplus to pay the wages of such an assistant. 
At all events he made up his mind to try the experi- 
ment. 

With young "Willard, to think was to act, and this 
project was no sooner conceived than he proceeded to 
put it into execution. He laid his plans frankly be- 
fore his father, who, to his great gratification, 
assented to his proposal. A man was hired for 
fifteen dollars a month to take Willard's place on 
the farm, and the latter made his first venture as a 
trapper. 

His initial experiment w^as to set six traps of the 
pattern called a *' dead-fall" or " figure of four," and 
this resulted in the capture of tw^o minks worth about 
eight dollars. With what an exultant heart he drew 
out his first mink and realized that by his own un-* 
aided exertions he had niade some money, no boy or 
man need be told. He at once, however, entered into 
some rather fallacious calculations and built some ex- 
tremely airy castles. It occurred to him that if out of 
six traps he could obtain two skins, out of one hun- 
dred he could obtain twenty-three, and so on, in 
proportion. 

This, however, proved to be a miscalculation, it not 
7 



90 SWORD AND PEN. 

being so much the number of traps set, as the quantity 
of game in a given locality which regulates the amount 
of success for a trapper. Yet his efforts in this new 
business succeeded to a gratifying degree, and the 
fact of having exchanged the dull monotony of farm 
drudgery for the exhilarating excitement of a hunter's 
life, was in itself a sufficient reward for any amount of 
exertion. Indeed what mode of life could be happier 
or more free, for a healthy, strong-limbed youth of 
fifteen, than to live as he then did, almost entirely in 
the woods? Then too, his daily route lay in the 
midst of some of the finest scenery to be found any- 
where in New York, even in that grand old county of 
St. Lawrence. 

To a lover of nature nothing could be more alluring 
than the locality through which Willard, at that period 
of his life, trapped and hunted. To follow the wind- 
ing waters of the Oswegatchie is to enjoy a perpetual 
feast. That river is one of a great family of rivers, 
among which may be enumerated the Rackett, the 
Grasse, the Indian, and the Black, all of which take 
their rise far up in the recesses of the great North 
Woods. Though not to any extent navigable, it is 
yet nearly as broad as the lovely and " blue Juniata'' 
of '^peaceful Pennsylvania." 

At times turbulent and brawling, it is often vexed 
in its passage to the St. Law^-ence by falls and cataracts 
varying in height and volume, but which in their in- 
finite variety give a wild and romantic beauty to this 
poetical stream. At times it glides smoothly along 
through low meadow lands, and again it plunges into 
some dense thicket or brawls through some briery dell 
where the foliage is so thick that one can only see the 




THE YOUXG TRAPPER OF THE OSWEGATCHIE. 



THE FRUITS OF PERSEVERANCE, 91 

glint and glisten of its waters at rare intervals, shining 
between the lapping leaves and tangled vines. Then 
again it sweeps onward through cleft rocks and jutting 
banks until, lost at last in the very heart of the prime- 
val forest, its twilight waters reflect the images of 
giant trees which had their beginning on its banks a 
century ago. 

Willard's life during that autumn passed in perse- 
vering work. Day by day he traveled his accustomed 
routes, while the leaves turned from green to red and 
from red to russet and brown, and at last fell from the 
naked branches of the forest trees with a little farewell 
rustle, to be trodden into the rich soil below. 

By the time the first snow came he found himself 
much more robust physically, and with seventy-five 
dollars clear profit in his pocket. In addition to these 
advantages he also acquired the inestimable habit of 
self-reliance, so that when he entered upon a course of 
preparation for his academic life, it was with full faith 
in himself. For four terms, beginning August thir- 
teenth, 1857, and ending the latter part of June, 1859, 
he remained at the excellent institution of learning 
which he had selected, and while there gained con- 
siderable credit as a hard student. 

During the first of these terms a generous rivalry ex- 
isted between himself and a youth by the name of Albert 
Burt, as to which should lead the class. As it turned 
out, however, they kept together and were both marked 
"perfect.'' The academy was under the management 
of the Rev. E. C. Bruce, ^I. A,, Principal; and 
Andrew Roe, Professor of Mathematics. About a 
month or six weeks after he entered the school, he ar- 
ranged to take lessons in elocution under a Professor 



92 SWORD AND PEN. 

Bronson, that gentleman having organized a large class 
at the academy. 

In a brief diary kept by him at the time, we find the 
remark that he was '' greatly pleased with the Profes- 
sor's method of teaching that important branch of 
study." Willard had advanced to the higher grade 
of Algebra and Grammar, had added Philosophy to 
the list of his studies, and having cultivated a 
natural turn for public speaking, he was elected ou 
the eighteenth of December, 1857, a member of the 
Oratorical Society — an association connected with the 
institution. His boy experiences were very similar 
to those which happen to all lads in academic life. 
He had his chums, among whom were Brayton 
Abbott and Ozias Johnson ; he had his little flirta- 
tions with misses of his own age, and he had his 
fights, as all boys have. 

Among the latter was one with Johnson, who was 
his room-mate, and who, being four years older than 
himself, undertook, for fun, to rub his face with a 
newly-purchased hair-brush. This kind of fun did not 
suit Willard, however, and he resented it by giving 
Johnson a "dig" in the ribs. AVhereupon a fight 
ensued in earnest, and as Willard was too young and 
light to keep up the contest at close quarters, he dodged 
his adversary and covered his retreat by dropping 
chairs in front of Johnson's legs, which brought that 
young gentleman to the floor more than once, to his 
own intense disgust and Willard's great gratification. 
At length Johnson managed to corner his opponent, 
and then rubbed his face so thoroughly with the bris- 
tles that his comrades that morning thought he had 



THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE. 93 

caugb- the scarlet-fever, or as Dickens says, that he 
was ths " walking ghost of a kitchen fire." 

As generally happens, however, between two manly 
fellows, their combat inspired a feeling of mutual re- 
spect, and from being mere acquaintances they grew 
to be fast friends. 

Study and sedentary habits at length so much im- 
paired Willard^s health that, in the latter part of the 
month of August, 1858, he was compelled to cease his 
attendance at school and go home. The thirtieth of 
September following, however, found him at the 
Teachers' Institute of St. Lawrence County, with the 
proceedings of which body he appears to have 
been highly gratified, for in the diary to which we 
have already referred he speaks of it in these 
words, — 

" I am now attending the Teachers' Institute of this 
county, which is in session at Gouverneur, it having 
opened upon the twenty-seventh instant. The School 
Commissioners are Mr. C. C. Church and Allen 
Wight. I am highly pleased with the proceedings 
and the method of conducting the exercises of this 
apparently indispensable part of a Teacher's instruc- 
tion," — adding that it was his " intention to become a 
teacher the coming winter." Indeed, to be a teacher 
seems to have been his favorite scheme of life, and his 
highest ambition was ultimately to fill the chair of 
Mathematics in one of the great institutions of learn- 
ing. That most exact of sciences was his favorite 
branch of study, and the intellectual stimulus which 
it imparts had for him a peculiar fascination. 

In pursuance of his object, and in order, by teaching 
during one part of the year, to raise means to enable 



94 SWORD AND PEN. 

him to attend school during another portion, he set 
about })rocuriug for himself a school. Fortunate!}? 
for the accomplishment of his object, it was suggested 
to him to a])ply to the School Commissioner of his own 
Assembly district, and he did so. The examination 
which followed his application, owing to some local 
rivalry, was extremely rigid ; but he passed through 
it with great credit and received the appointment he 
desired, being assigned forthwith to duty in the town 
of Edwards, St. Lawrence County. He commenced 
teaching in the bleak month of November, 1858, and 
was very earnest in fulfilling the duties of his position, 
taking every opportunity not only of instilling knowl- 
edge into the minds of his pupils, but also striving to 
imbue them with a love of self-culture. He labored 
hard in his efforts to earn means with which to sup- 
port himself during the coming summer at the Gou- 
verneur Wesleyan Seminary, and discovered while thus 
working that teaching was as much of a discipline for 
himself as for his pupils. 

The time does not seem to have passed unpleasantly 
to him at this period of his career, for in an entry made 
in his diary on the twenty-eighth of November, 1858, 
he says : 

" I am spending the evening with Mr. Hiram Har- 
ris and family, having come into the district this after- 
noon, ^ly object here is to teach school for a term 
of three mouths in fulfilment of the contract existing 
between the trustees and myself. In compliance with 
a custom that prevails, I am expected to * board 
around,^ as it is styled, and Mr. Harris, being one of 
the Trustees, has invited me to spend my first week at 
his house. 



A TIME AND PLACE FOE EVERYTHING. 95 

"The School Commissioner of this Assembly district 
is Mr. C. C. Church, of Potsdam, from whom I re- 
ceived a certificate based u})on the recommendation of 
Commissioner Allen Wight of the first district. The 
School Trustees are E. L. Beardsley, Hiram Harris, 
and Jeptha Clark. The present term \\\\\ be my first 
experience in the profession I have adopted. I do 
hope it will prove a useful one, for I am of opinion 
that a teacher's first experience is apt to give color to 
his whole future career.'' The day after this entry he 
adds that '' only a small attendance greeted me upon 
opening ray school,'^ and after consoling himself with 
the reflection that this will leave him plenty of time 
for study, he adopted a single rule — "Do right ;'^ and 
an additional motto, "A time and place for everything 
and everything in its time^nd place.'' 

It will thus be seen that he had already acquired a 
clear idea of the importance of order in every pursuit, 
and knew that method gives to an ordinary mortal 
Bria^rean arms with which to accomplish whatever he 
may desire to do. How few attain to this knowl- 
edge until it is too late ! 

As a writer, whose words we think worthy of remem- 
brance, has said : 

" This is an era of doing things scientifically. People 
make scientific calculations of the weather, and the 
average number of murders for the next year. They 
measure the stars and they measure the affections, both 
scientifically. The only thing they fail to do scien- 
tifically is, to manage themselves. As a rule, they 
drijt^ and then find fault with fate and Providence be- 
cause they don't drift into the right port. They drift 
into life with a nudtiplicity of vague dreams, which 



96 JSWOEB AND PEN. 

are somehow to be realized ; but they have a very dim 
idea of ways and means. They drift through it, care- 
lessly, with an inadequate knowledge of their own 
resources, and a still more inadequate notion of using 
them to the best advantage; they drift out of it with a 
melancholy sense of failure, both absolutely as to them- 
selves and relatively as to the world. Of all their 
splendid possibilities, none are realized. Nothing is 
completed. They start wrong or they make one fatal 
step, and everything goes wrong all the way through. 
It seems as if most lives were only experiments. Now 
and then one is turned out wliich fits in its niche and 
is tolerably symmetrical. The rest are all awry, un- 
finished, misplaced, and merely faint suggestions of 
what miirht have been. INIuch of this is doubtless be- 
youd mortal control, but a far greater portion is due 
to the lack of a nice direction of forces. Tlie human 
mechanism is complicated, and a very slight flaw sets 
it all wrong. There may be too much steam or too 
much friction, or too little power or too little balance. 
But clearly the first step is to strengthen the weak 
points, to gauge its capabilities, to set it running 
smoothly, and to give it a definite aim. If existence 
were simply passive and the mission of man was to be 
instead of to do, he might perhaps be left to develop 
as the trees do, according to his own will or fancy or 
according to certain natural laws. But as it is the uni- 
versal wish wherever one is, to be somewhere else, a 
little higher in the scale, it seems to be a part of wis- 
dom, as well as humanity, to fit one for climbing. But 
many an aspirant finds his wings clipped in the begin- 
nmg of his career, through the ignorance or careless- 
ness of his friends, who never took the trouble of 



PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE. 97 

measuring his capabilities. He is treated as a recep- 
tacle into which a certain amount of ideas are to be 
poured, no matter whether they may answer to any- 
thing within him or not. He is turned out of an 
educational mill with five hundred others, and with 
j)lenty of loose knowledge, but without the remotest 
idea of what to do with it, or what nature intended him 
for, and with no especial fitness for any one thing. He 
can thinkj probably, if he has the requisite amount of 
brains, but how to establish a relation between thought 
and bread and butter is the problem. He has the 
requisite motive power, but it is not attached to any- 
thing. He docs not know how to attach it, so he 
revolves in a circle, or makes a series of floundering 
experiments, that bear meagre fruit, perhaps when the 
better part of his life is gone. He knows books, but he 
does not know men. He is a master of theories, but 
cannot apply them. If he has a small amount of 
brains, his case is still more hopeless. To be sure, a 
proper amount of knowledge has been poured in, but 
it has all slipped through. He might have assimilated 
some other kind of knowledge, but that particular kind 
has left him with mental dyspepsia, and a vague feel- 
ing of hopelessness which is likely to prove fatal to 
all useful effort. Or perhaps he has talent, but is desti- 
tute of the requisite tact to make it tell upon the world. 
His success depends largely on his power to move 
|,others, but he has no lever and is forced to rely upon 
main strength, which involves a serious expenditure 
of vitality, with only doubtful results. He works all 
his life against perpetual friction, because no one had 
the foresight or insight to discern that this was the flaw 
in his machinery. 



98 SWOED AND PEN. 

"Another fatal point is in the choice of a vocation. 
Having drifted through an education, he next drifts 
into his business or profession. He rarely stops to take 
an inventory of his capital, or, at best, he takes a very 
partial one. Chance or circumstance decides him. 
His grandfather sits on the judge's bench. He thinks 
the judge's bench a desirable j)la(;e, so he takes to the 
law. He puts on his grandfather's coat without the 
slightest reference to w^iether it will fit or not. Per- 
haps he intends to grow to it, but a willow sapling can- 
not grow into an oak. It may grow into a very re- 
spectable willow, but if it aspires to the higher dignity, 
it will most likely get crushed or blown over. It may 
be that he has a grand vision of commercial splendor, 
and plunges into business life with a very good idea of 
Sophocles and Horace and no idea whatever of trade ; 
with a very good talent for theories, but none whatever 
for facts ; with some insight into metaphysics, but none 
at all into people. Instead of trying his strength in 
shallow waters, he starts to cross the Atlantic in a very 
small skift'. By the time he has reached mid-ocean he 
discovers his error, but it is too late to turn back ; so 
he is buffeted about by winds and waves until he, too, 
goes down and counts among the failures. 

"Another of the few points upon which life hinges 
is marriage, and people drift into that as they do into 
everything else. It is one of the things to be done in 
order to complete the circle of human experience. A 
man is caught by a pretty face and a winning smile. 
He takes no thought of the new element he is adding 
to his life, either with reference to his outward career 
or his inward needs. Caprice governs his choice, or 
perhaps a hard form of self-interest. Having com- 



MASTERED IN THE BATTLE 99 

mitted one or two of the grand errors of life, he settles 
down to its serious business, and speedily discovers that 
he has a dead weight to carry. He has mistaken liis 
vocation, whatever it may be. 

" He is conscious now that it is too late to change ; 
that he might have attained supreme excellence in 
some other calling. He toils with heavy heart and 
sinking spirit at the plodding pace of dull mediocrity. 
His work is drudgery and wearies him body and soul. 
Those who once smiled upon him pass him by. Men 
of far inferior capabilities distance him in the race. 
Perhaps too he has made another misstep, and has a 
wife who sympathizes neither with his tastes nor his 
trials: who has no comprehension of him whatever, 
save that he is a being whose business it is to love her 
and furnish her with spending money. The beauty 
which fascinated him has grown faded and insipid. 
The pretty coquetries that won him pall upon him ; 
he is absolutely alone with the burden of life pressing 
heavily upon him. Is it strange that he is mastered 
in the battle and finally falls beneath the world's piti- 
less tread? This is a sad little picture, but it is an 
every-day one, and the world goes on its way as 
before. 

"What matters it that a lonely, dissipated man has 
lain down in sorrow to rise no more! The world can- 
not stop to weep over the remains of the departed one 
it has trampled upon. Those whose business it is can 
take them on one side, lay them away under the green 
sod out of sight, shed a tear perhaps, and pass on until 
their turn comes to lay down wearily, go to sleep, and 
be laid away. The world chides, the world laughs, 
but it takes no cognizance of tlie grief — 



100 SWORD AM) PEN. 

*' ' That inward breaks and shows no cause without, 
Why the man dies.' 

*^ Yet there is but the difference of a point in the 
game between the victim and the hero. The cards are 
the same, or the victim, perhaps, may hold the l)est 
trumps, but lie plays recklessly, loses his i)oint, loses 
his game, loses all ! On such slight things does human 
destiny hinge. The hero has all his resources at com- 
mand — his game dimly outlined. He knows his win- 
ning cards, and he plays them skilfully. 

"Every point tells. Nothing is left to chance that 
can be accomplished by foresight. He wins the game. 
He wins the prizes. He has the mastery of life. The 
world takes off its hat to him. Fortune and people 
smile upon him. Not that he is better than others — 
very likely he is not so good. But the world counts 
i-esults. Becky Sharp is not a model, but Becky 
Sharp is a power. The world does not like her in 
the abstract, but it likes her dinners, it courts her 
smiles, it fawns upon her, it showers its good things 
upon her, all because she has mastered it. Becky 
Sharp is not a model. Her aims are unworthy, and 
her means unscrupulous; but she reads us a lesson in 
fact, in foresight, in energy, in the subtle art of making 
the most of limited resources. So long as life is a 
game, it is worth studying. The difference between 
playing it well and playing it ill is the difference 
between light and darkness, between joy and desola- 
tion, between life and death." 

Even at that, early and immature time of his life, 
Willard Glazier had thought much upon this subject — 
examples of the disjointed successes of all unplanned 
and unmethodical careers having been brought too 



PLAN AND PURPOSE. JQI 

frequently into close proximity to his own door, not 
to have made an impression upon his inquiring mind. 
Hence, at the very threshold of his life as a teacher, 
he resolved to have plan and purpose clearly defined 
in everything he did 



CHAPTER X. 

THE SOLDIER SCIIOOL-.AIASTER. 

From boy to man. — The Lyceum debate. — Willard speaks for the 
slave. — Entrance to the State Normal School. — Reverses. 
— Fighting the world again. — Assistance from fair hands. 
— AVillard meets Allen Barringer. — John Brown, and what 
Willard thought of him. — Principles above bribe. — Exami- 
nation. — A sleepless night. — Haunted by the "ghost of possi. 
ble defeat." ^— " Here is your certificate." — The school at 
Schodack Centre. — At the "Normal" again. — The Ed- 
wards School. — Thirty pupils at two dollars each. — The "sol- 
dier school-master." — Teaches at East Schodack. — The runa- 
way ride. — Good-by, mittens, robes and whip ! — Close of school 
at East Schodack. 

ALTHOUGH -a very boy in years, young Glazier 
felt himself already stepping upon the bound- 
ary line of manhood, and, luckily for his future wel- 
fare, he comprehended the dangers and realized the 
responsibilities which attend that portion of human 
existence. 

Upon the fifth of February, 1857, the dull routine 
of a teacher's duty was varied" by a visit made to 
Edwards by Willard's uncle Joseph, and his sisters; 
and, after closing his school, the former went home 
with his visitors, and thence to a Lyceum which had 
been established in the Herrick School District, where 
a debate was in progress as to the relative importance, 
in a humanitarian j)oint of view, of the bondage of the 
(102) 



GLIMPSES OF THE FUTURE. 103 

African race in the Southern States, or the decadence 
of the Indian tribes under the encroachments of 
the Whites. The "question" assumed that the 
Aborigines were best worthy of sympathy ; and 
young Glazier, being invited to participate in the 
discussion, accepted, and spoke upon the negative side 
of the question. 

He little dreamed upon that winter's night, wlien, 
in the small arena of a village debating-club, he stood 
up as the champion of the slave, that the day was not 
far distant when he would ride rowel-deep in carnage 
upon battle-fields which war's sad havoc had made 
sickening, fighting for the same cause in whose behalf 
he now so eloquently spoke. 

No prophetic vision of what fate held in store for 
him appeared to the ardent boy, speaking for those 
who could not rise from the darkness of their bondage 
to speak for themselves. No glimpse of weary months 
dragged out in Confederate prisons — of hair-breadth 
escapes from dangers dread and manifold — of hiding 
in newly-dug graves made to assist the flight of the 
living, not to entomb the dead — of lying in jungles 
and cypress-swamps while fierce men and baffled 
hounds were panting for his blood — of vicissitudes 
and perils more like the wild creations of some fevered 
dream than the plain and unvarnished reality: nothing 
of all this came before him to trouble his young hopes 
or cloud his bright anticipations of the future. 

He spoke of freedom, and had never seen a slave. 
He pictured the cruelty of the lash used in a Christian 
land on Christian woman, be she black or white. He 
spoke of the deeper wrong of tearing the new-born 
babe from its mother's breast to sell it by the pound — 
8 



104 SWORD AND PEN, 

of dragging the woman lierself from the father of her 
ell i 1(1 and compelling her to mate with other men — of 
the fact that such wrongs were not alone the offspring 
of cruel hearts, nor of brutal owners, but arose from 
the mere operation of barbarous laws where masters, 
if left to themselves, would have been most kind. 
He spoke of such things as these, and yet he never 
dreamed that his words were but the precursors of 
deeds that would make mere words seem spiritless and 
tame. 

Young Glazier spoke well. The little magnates of 
the place — the older men, after this, talked of him as 
of one likely to rise, to become a man of note, and 
their manner grew more respectful towards the young 
school-master. His occupations and amusements at 
this period of his existence, though simple in their 
character, were considerably varied. 

Among other entries in his journal about this date, 
is one that so commends itself by its brevity and 
comprehensiveness that I quote it verbatim. 

"Having," he says, "received an invitation upon 
the twenty-fourth of December, I attended a party at 
the residence of Jeptha Clark, whose excellent wife 
received me very kindly; upon Christmas day I vis- 
ited T. L. Turnbull's school at Fullersville ; upon 
Monday last called at Mr. Austin's school in the Her- 
rick District; Tuesday, dropped down for a moment 
upon the students at Gouverneur; on Wednesday, 
returned home ; and on Thursday, for the greater part 
of the day, assisted uncle Joseph in hauling wood from 
the swamps on the Davis Place." 

Thus the time slipped rapidly by and his first term 
of teaching drew to a close. In the spring of 1859 he 



nOUTINE OF BAY'S WORK. 105 

again became a member of the Gouverneur AYesleyaii 
Seminary, and in May of that year, made the following 
characteristic entry in liis diary : 

"'Order is Heaven's first law.' A time and place 
for everytliing, and everything in its time and place, 
was the rule of conduct I adopted some time ago. In 
accordance with this determination I have laid out the 
follow^ing routine of occupation for each day. I intend 
to abide by it during the present term. I will retire 
at ten o'clock P. M., rise each morning at five o'clock, 
walk and exercise until six, then return to my room, 
breakfast and read history until eight, then repeat 
what the English call a 'constitutional,' viz.: an- 
other walk until prayers, devoting the time intervening 
between prayers and recitation, to Algebra. After re- 
citation, I will study Geometry for three-quarters of 
an hour, Latin for half an hour, and be ready for 
recitation again at two o'clock. This wdll complete my 
regular course of study, and, by carrying out this rou- 
tine, I can dine at noon, and also have a considerable 
amount of time for miscellaneous reading and writing, 
to say nothing of my Saturdays, upon which I can 
review the studies of the w'eek." 

To this plan young Glazier adhered conscientiously, 
and hence he made rapid progress and very soon found 
himself in a condition to take another forward step in 
the pathway of learning. That step was the entrance 
to the State Normal School at Albany. To go to 
West Point and receive the military training which 
our government benevolently bestows upon her sons at 
that institution, had been his pet ambition for years — 
the scheme towards wdiich all his energies were bent. 
But failing in this, his next choice was the Normal 



106 SWORD AND PEN. 

School. Accordingly, on a certain September after- 
r.oon in 1859, he found himself in the capital city 
of the Empire State, knocking for admission at the 
doors of the State School. Ke was alone and among 
strangers in a great metropolis, with a purse containing 
the sum of eight dollars ! For a course of seven or 
eight months instruction this was certainly a modest 
estimate of exj^enses! In fact, young Glazier had 
based his financial arrangements on a miscalculation 
of the amount furnished by the State. He did not 
then know that the only provision made by the body 
politic was for mileage, tuition and text-books. But 
on Monday morning, September seventeenth, 1859, he 
signed his name to the Normal pledge, and at tlie con- 
clusion of the examination — which continued until 
September twenty-third — he was assigned to the Junior 
Class — there being at that time four classes: the 
Senior and sub-Senior, Junior and sub-Junior. 

The next step was to find lodgings at a weekly or 
monthly price more suited to his means than thovse 
which he had temporarily taken at the Adams House 
on his arrival there the previous evening. Always 
frugal in regard to his personal expenditures, he 
knew that, in order to eke out the full term with his 
scanty resources, he must carry his habitual thrift to 
its fullest extent. He therej^re scoured the town for 
apartments, aided by references from Professor Cochran, 
principal of the Normal, and finally obtained a room 
on Lydius street, almost within shadow of the Cathe- 
dral, and at the certainly reasonable rate of "six shil- 
lings per week.'' Tiiis room he shared with Alex- 
ander S. Hunter, from Schoharie County, and a 
member of the sub-Senior Class. For several weeks 



IN PURSUIT OF A SCHOOL. 107 

the young students boarded at this place, buying 
what food they required, which the landhidy cooked 
for them free of charge. Seventy-five cents a week 
paid for their cooking and their rent! 

But even this small outlay soon exhausted the 
meagre resources of young Glazier, and, at the end of 
the time mentioned, he went over into Rensselaer 
County, to look up a school, in order to replenish his 
well-nigh empty purse, and to enable him to proceed 
in his efforts to acquire an education. It was a bright 
clear morning in November when he left his boarding- 
place on Lydius street in quest of his self-appointed 
work, and, crossing the Hudson on a ferry-boat, 
walked all the way to Nassau by the Bloomingdale 
Road — a distance of sixteen miles. His object was 
to find Allen Bar ringer. School Commissioner for 
Rensselaer County, who, as he had been told, lived 
somewhere near Nassau. On the way to that village 
he passed two or three schools, concerning which he 
made inquiries, with a view to engaging some one of 
them on his return to Albany should he be so success- 
ful as to obtain a certificate from Mr. Barringer. At 
about two o'clock in the afternoon of this, to him, 
eventful day, young Glazier had arrived at the resi- 
dence of Harmon Payne, near East Schodack, or 
"Scott's Corners,^' as it was sometimes called. He 
had been referred to this gentleman as one likely to 
assist him in his endeavors to obtain a school. He 
had eaten nothing since morning, and, having walked 
a distance of nearly sixteen miles, as may be imagined, 
was somewhat faint and hungry. But the good wife 
of Mr. Payne showed herself not lacking in the 
kindly courtesy belonging to a gentlewoman, and, with 



108 SWORD Al^n PEN. 

true hospitality, placed before the young Normal 
student a delicious repast of bread and honey. 

To this youthful wayfarer, with a purse reduced to 
a cypher, and struggling over the first rough places in 
the pathway of life, the sini])le meal was like manna in 
the wilderness. After ciiatting })lcasantly with the 
family for an hour or more, he started again on 
his journey. But tiiis time not alone; for Mr. Payne 
very kindly sent his niece with the boy teacher, in 
whom he had become so much interested, to show 
him a shorter route to East Schodack " across lots.'' 
This village, two miles farther on, by the traveled 
highway, was only three-quarters of a mile distant by 
a pathway leading across the pasture lands of some 
adjoining farms. In the fading November afternoon 
the young lady and her pr^oUg^ walked together to 
East Schodack — a walk which young Willard never 
forgot, arid out of which afterwards grew a fairy fabric 
of romantic regard glittering with all the rainbow hues 
of boyish sentiment, and falling collapsed in tlie after- 
crash of life, like many another soap-bubble experi- 
ence of first young days. 

But he did not succeed, at that time, in securing the 
East Schodack School, as he had hoped to do. Nothing 
daunted, however, he trod reverses under foot and 
pushed on towards the residence of the School Com- 
missioner whose ipae dixit was to award him success or 
failure. 

Allen Barringer lived one mile from the village 

of Nassau, in Rensselaer County, and it was nearly 

nightfall when, with an anxious heart and weary with 

the day's journey, he knocked at the door of the com- 

'fortable country residence which had been pointed out 



ALLEN BARRINGER. 109 

to lilm as the one belonging to the School Commis- 
sioner. That gentleman himself came to the door in 
answer to his knock, and upon Willard's inquiry for 
Mr. Barringer replied: 

"I am Mr. Barringer, sir; what can I do for you?" 

His manner was so pleasant and his face so genial 
that young Glazier, at once reassured, had no difficulty 
in making known his business. 

"I have come out here from Albany,'^ said he, "to 
see if I could pass examination for a certificate, to 
teach in your district.'' 

" Well, come in, come in," said Mr. Barringer, cor- 
dially, " and I will see what I can do for you. You 
are not going back to Albany to-night?" he asked. 

*' No, I shall not be able to do so," replied 
Willard. 

" Have you friends or relatives here with whom you 
intend to stay ? " 

" No, sir." 

" Then I shall be glad to have you stop with us to- 
night. I am a young man like yourself, living at 
home here with my parents, as you see, I am fond of 
company, and will be happy to place my room at your 
disposal. And as there will be no hurry about the 
examination, we will talk more about it after supper." 

Young Glazier thanked his host for the kind proffer 
of entertainment, and of course acquiesced in the 
arrangement. 

Accordingly, after the physical man had been re- 
freshed at a well-spread supper-table, Mr. Barringer 
conducted liis young guest to his own apartments, 
where they drew their easy-chairs before a comfortable 
fire, and entered into conversation. 



110 SWORD ANV PEN, 

"I am considerably interested in politics just now," 
said Mr. Barringer, and then he asked abruptly, ^Svhat 
is your opinion of John Brown?" 

At this time the first red flash of the war that swiftly 
followed, had glowered athwart the political horizon, 
in the John Brown raid at Harper's Ferry, and against 
this lurid background the figure of the stern old man 
stood out in strong relief. It was at the period when, 
shut up in prison, he was writing those heroic words to 
his wife, those loving words of farewell to his children; 
when petitions poured in pleading for his life — though 
they were petitions all in vain — and when, naturally, 
partisan feeling on the subject was at its height. Wil- 
lard felt that in expressing his candid convictions he 
might be treading on dangerous ground, and perhaps 
endangering his chances for success, yet he held princi- 
ple so high, and honest sentiment so far above bribe, 
that if his certificate had depended on it he would not 
have hesitated to express his admiration for the brave 
old man who laid down his life for the slave, and 
whose name has since been crowned with the immor- 
telles of fame. Therefore Willard replied with a 
frankness worthy of emulation that he looked upon 
John Brown as a conscientious, earnest, devoted man — 
a man whose face was firmly set in the path of duty 
though that path led to imprisonment and the gallows; 
a man much in advance of his time — one of the 
pioneers of free thought, suffering for the sacred 
cause, as pioneers in all great movements always suf- 
fer. He spoke with a modest fearlessness known 
sometimes to youth and to few men. Mr. Barrin- 
ger replied that, though he held different views, he 
could not but admire Willard's frankness in avow- 



SECURES A TEACHERS CERTIFICATE. l\\ 

ing his own political convictions, and that this inde- 
pendence in principle would in nowise detract from 
his previously formed good opinion of him. After- 
wards, ]\Ir. Barringer examined him in the com- 
mon Englisli brandies of study, besides astronomy, 
philosophy and algebra — studies usually taught in the 
public schools of Rensselaer County. In this way, with 
much pleasant talk dropped at intervals through the 
official business of examination, prefaced at length with 
politics and concluded with social chat, an agreeable 
evening passed. 

Mr. Barringer at last said good-night to the young 
Normal student, with the remark that he would see 
what could be done for him in the morning. 

Not much sleep visited Willard's eyes that night, 
with the ghost of possible defeat haunting his wakeful 
senses, stretched to their utmost tension of anxiety. 

Would he, or would he not, receive in the morning 
the certificate he sought? This was the thought tossed 
continually up on the topmost wave of his conscious- 
ness all the night long. Morning dawned at last, much 
to his relief. When Mr. Barringer came to his door 
to announce breakfast, he handed Willard the coveted 
piece of paper. 

" Now then," said he, cheerily, " here is your certifi- 
cate, and as I am going to drive over to Albany after 
breakfast, if you have no particular school in view, I 
shall be glad to have you ride with me as far as Schodack 
Centre, where I have some very good friends, and will 
introduce you to the trustees of the district, Messrs. 
Brockway, Hover and Knickerbocker." 

Accordingly they drove over to the residence of 
Milton Knickerbocker, school trustee of District No. 7, 
of the town of Schodack. 



112 SWORI) AND PEN, 

That gentleman thanked the School Commissioner 
for bringing the young teacher over, said that he would 
be pleased to engage him, and that it was only neces- 
sary to see another trustee, George Brockway, to 
make the engagement final. Mr. Knickerbocker 
then accomp^ied young Glazier to the residence of 
Mr. Brockway, where arrano^cjiients were made for 
him to teach the school at Schodack Centre. He then 
walked back to Albany. 

Willard had said nothing to his landlady, on Lydius 
street, concerning his intended absence, fearing he 
might have to report the failure of his project, and on 
the evening of his return to Albany — having been 
away for thirty-six hours — was surprised to find that 
the family were just about to advertise him in the city 
papers, thinking some strange fate had befallen him, or 
that he had perhaps committed suicide. 

In just one week from the time Glazier engaged his 
school at Schodack Centre, he returned to that place, 
and taught the young Schodackers successfully through 
the specified term, after which lie went to Albany and 
passed the next Normal School term. On the twelfth 
of July following, he left Albany for the home farm, 
where he worked until the first of Se[)tember. He 
then went on a prospecting tour out to Edwards, near 
the field of his former efforts, and canvassed for scholars 
at two dollars each, for a term of eight weeks. His 
object was to teach during the fall and winter months 
and return to Albany in the spring. This energetic 
youth of eighteen succeeded in obtaining about thirty 
pupils, among whom were six teachers — one of them 
having taught four terms. 

Among the incidents of his school experience at this 



THE BOY-TEACIIER. 113 

time may be mentioned the fact of a scries of drill 
tactics, originated by himself, with wliich he practised 
his pupils so thoroughly that they were enabled to go 
throuo^h all the reo^ular evolutions set down in Hardee. 
Yet he had never seen the drill-book. 

It may be regarded as one of those outcroppings of 
his natural bent towards the military art which he dis- 
played from his very infancy ; for true military genius, 
like true poetical genius, is born, not made. Of course 
our young tactician soon made himself known, and 
throughout the district he was distinguished by the 
title of the *' Soldier-Schoolmaster.'^ 

It was an involuntary tribute yielded by public 
sentiment to the boy who afterwards became the 
<' Soldier-Author.'' 

This boy-teacher, young as he was, marshalled all 
his pupils into disciplined order, like the rank and 
file of the army, and somehow held natural words 
of command at his disposal whereby he wielded the 
human material given into his charge, as a general 
might wield the forces under his command. The school 
was his miniature world and he was its master — his 
diminutive kingdom wherein he was king; and within 
the boundary of this chosen realm his sway was 
absolute. 

First the "Soldier-Schoolmaster," drilling his boy- 
pupils; then the Soldier of the Saddle, riding through 
shot and shell and war's fierce din on Virginia's 
historic fields; and last, but perhaps not least, the 
"Soldier-Author," winning golden opinions from press 
and people; through all these changes of his life, from 
boy to man, one characteristic shows plain and clear 
Miis military bent. It is like the one bright stripe 



114 SWORD AND PEN. 

through a neutral ground, the one vein of ore deposit 
through the various stratifications of its native rock. 

The Edwards Select School was continued until the 
first of November, when Glazier left home once 
more, this time in company with his sister Marjorie, 
bound for Troy. On arriving at that city he left 
his sister at the house of an old friend, Alexander 
McCoy, and went down into Kensselaer County a 
second time in search of a school, or rather two schools 
— one for his sister as well as one for himself. He suc- 
ceeded in obtaining both of them on the same day, and 
went back to Troy that night. His own district was 
East Schodack, near Schodack Centre, where he had 
previously taught, and his sister secured the school two 
miles north of the village of Castleton and six miles 
distant from Albany. 

The little school-house near Castleton, where his 
sister taught, was located in a lovely spot on a height 
overlooking the Hudson and commanding a fine view 
of the river and the surrounding scenery. 

During the school term in their respective districts, 
it was Willard Glazier's habit to visit his sister 
once a week, on Saturday or Sunday, and on several 
occasions a gentleman living at East Schodack, Wil- 
liam Westfall by name, who owned a fine horse and 
sleigh, loaned him the use of his establishment to 
drive to Castleton and return. The sleigh was provided 
with warm robes of fur and^he horse was beyond doubt 
spirited, and a handsome specimen of the genus horse. 
But as we cannot look for absolute perfection in any- 
thing pertaining to earth, it may be stated that this 
animal was no exception to the universal rule. He had 
his fault, as young Glazier discovered — a disagreeable 



A RUNAWAY HORSE. 115 

habit of running away every time he saw a train of 
cars. Perhaps the horse couldn't help it; it was no 
doubt an inherited disposition, descended to him 
through long lines of fractious ancestors, and therefore 
it need not be set down against him in the cataloo^ue 
of wilful sins. But whether so or otherwise, this little, 
unpleasantness in his disposition was an established 
fact, and unfortunately there were two railroads to 
cross between East Schodack and Castleton. On Gla- 
zier's first ride to Castleton with the Westfall horse 
and sleigh, he had just crossed the Boston and Albany 
Eailroad when a freight-train rolled heavily by, which 
put the horse under excellent headway, and on reaching 
the Hudson River liailroad — the two tracks running 
very near each other — a passenger train came up be- 
hind him. This completed the aggregation of causes, 
and away flew the horse down the road to Castleton at 
break-neck speed. Fences disappeared like gray streaks 
in the distance; roadside cottages came in view and 
were swiftly left behind in the track of the foam- 
flecked animal. All that Glazier could do was to keep 
him in the road, until at length an old shed by the 
roadside served his purpose, and running him into it, 
the horse, puffing and snorting, was obliged to stop. 
On his return to East Schodack, Mr. Westfall asked 
him how he liked the horse. He replied that he 
thought the animal a splendid traveler. He did think 
so, beyond question. 

The next Sunday young Glazier was driving again 
to Castleton with the same stylish turn-out; this time 
with his sister Marjorie in the sleigh. She had come 
up to East Schodack the evening before, and he was 
taking her back to her school. The sleighing was ex- 



116 SWORD AND PEN. 

cellent, the day fine, and all went merry as a marriage 
bell until they reached the railroad. There the inevi- 
table train of cars loomed in view, and the puff, i)uff 
of the engine, sending out great volumes of steam and 
its wild screech at the crossing, completely u[)set what 
few ideas of propriety and steady travel this horse may 
have had in his })oor, bewildered head, and, with a 
leap and a jerk, he was once more running away on 
the Castleton Road as if the entire host of the infernal 
rei^ions were let loose was after him. 

For a little while he made things around them as 
lively as a pot of yeast. Away went whip, robes, 
mittens and everything else lying loose in the bottom 
of the sleigh at all calculated to yield to the vortex of 
a whirlwind or a runaway. But Glazier proved him- 
self master of the situation in this as in many another 
event of his life, and with one hand holding his fright- 
ened sister from jumping out of the sleigh, with the 
other he twisted the lines firmly around his wrist and 
kept the horse in the road, until, at the distance of 
three-quarters of a mile beyond Castleton, he brought 
the infuriated animal to a stand-still by running him 
against the side of a barn. Afterwards he drove leis- 
urely back and picked up the robes and whip and lost 
articles spilled during the wild runaway ride. 

A broken shaft was the only result of this last ad- 
venture, which Glazier of course, ])ut in repair before 
his return to East Schodack. Mr. Westfall never 
knew until after the close of the school term that his 
horse had afforded the young teacher an opportunity 
to tell what he knew about runaways. 

The school at East Schodack closed with an exhibi- 
tion exceedingly creditable to the efforts of the teacher, 



A TRIBUTE TO MERIT. WJ 

at which Mr. Allen Barrlnger was present, and in a 
speech before the school complimented young Glazier 
in the highest terms. The programme of exercises was 
an excellent one, and was made up of original addresses, 
declamations, recitations and music. After the close 
of the school, Mr. Barringer presented Glazier with 
a certificate which entitled him to teach for three years, 
and also gave him in addition the following letter of 
recommendation — a tribute of wliich any young tec:ch:^r 
might be justly proud, and which he carefully pre- 
served : 

" To Whom it May Concern : 

" This is to certify, that I am well acquainted v>^ith 
Wjllard Glazier, he having taught school during the 
winters of 1859 and '60 in my Commission District. 
I consider him one of the most promising young 
teachers of my acquaintance. The school that has the 
good fortune to secure his services will find him one 
of the most capable and efficient teachers of the day. 
"Allen Barringer, 

"School Commissioner, Rensselaer County. 
"ScHODACK, New York, I860." 

Early in the year 1860 he resumed his studies at 
the State Normal School, and remained at that institu- 
tion until the guns of Sumter sounded their war-ory 
through the land. 

This period was the great turning-point in Willard 
Glazier's life, and hereafter we encounter him in a far 
different role. 



CHAPTER XI. 

INTRODUCTION TO MILITARY LIFE. 

The mutterings of war. — Enlistment. — At Camp Howe. — First 
experience as a soldier. — "One step to the front!" — Beyond 
Washington. — On guard. — Promotion. — Recruiting service. — 
The deserted home on Arlington Heights. — " How shall I be- 
have in the comirvg battle?" — The brave Bayard. — On the 
march. — The stratagem at Falmouth Heights. — A brilliant 
charge. — After the battle. 

THE irresistible results of the discord so long 
pending between Korth and South accumulated 
day by day ; and when, at length, Abraham Lincoln 
was elected by a large popular majority, that election 
was, as everybody knows, immediately followed by the 
calling of the Southern States Convention, the seces- 
sion, one after another, of each of those States, the 
capture of Fort Sumter, the killing of Ellsworth, and 
the defeat of the Federal troops at Bull Run. All of 
these occurrences contributed to inflame the passions, 
intensify the opinions, and arouse the enthusiasm of 
the people of both sections to fever-heat. 

It was in the whirl and torrent of this popular 
storm that Willard Glazier was caught up and swept 
into the ranks of the Union army. 

His regiment, the Harris Light Cavalry, was orig- 
inally intended for the regular service — to rank as 
the Seventh Regular Cavalry. The general govern- 
ment, however, concluded to limit the number of their 
regiments of horse to six — the reasons for which are 
(118) 



THE HARRIS LIGHT CAVALRY. II9 

given by Captain Glazier in his "Soldiers of the 
Saddle/' as follows: 

"Under the military r^rj^tW of General Scott, the 
cavalry arm of the service had been almost entirely 
overlooked. His previous campaigns in Mexico, which 
consisted chiefly of the investment of walled towns and 
of assaults on fortresses, had not been favorable to 
extensive cavalry opeiations, and he was not disposed, 
at so advanced an age in Hie, materially to change his 
tactics of war.'' 

Hence, this regiment was mustered into service as 
the "Second Regiment of New York Cavalry," and, 
as Senator Ira Harris had extended to the organization 
the influence of his name and purse, it soon came to be 
called the " Harris Light Cavalry," and retained that 
title throughout the whole of its eventful career. The 
natural tastes ot' young Glazier led him into this branch 
of the service in preference to the infantry, and we find 
him writing to his sister Maijorie as follows : 

Camp Howe, near Scarsdale, New York, 
Aug ant list It, 18(il. 

]\Iy Dear Sister: From the post-mark of this letter vou 
will at once conjecture the triuh ere I tell it to yon, and I can fancy 
your sayinjr to yonrself when yon ghuice at it: " Willard is no 
longer talking about becoming, but really /u/a become a soldier." 
You are right. I am now a soldier. 

Many of our home friends will doubtless wonder why I have sac- 
rificed my professional prospects at a time when tiiey first began to 
look cheering, in order to share the hardships and perils of a sol- 
dier's life. But I need not explain, to you, my reasons for doing 
so. When our country is threatened with destruction by base and 
designing men, in order to gratify personal ambition and love of 
sway, it becomes her sons (o go to her rescue and avert the impend- 
ing ruin. The rebelling South has yet to learn the difference be- 
tween the true principle.^ of tlie Constitution and the delusion of " State 
rights." It is as easy to die a volunteer as a drafted soldier, ami 



120 SWOED AND PEN. 

in my opinion, is infinitely more honorable. I shall retnrn to ray 
studies as soon as the Rebellion is put down and tiie authority of 
our Government fully restored, and not until then. 

Let me give you a sketch of our movements thus far. Having 
reached Troy at 3 o'clock on the afternoon of the day you and I 
parted, 1 spent the remainder of tlie evening until 8 o'clock in the 
city. At that hour we embarked for New York, and the boys had 
a very exciting and enthusiastic time on board the steamer Van- 
derbilt. Wednesday was spent at ()4S Broadway, Regimental Head- 
quarters of the ** Harris Light Cavalry ; " and on that night we came 
by train to our present camp: or, rather, as near it as we could, for 
it is two miles from the nearest station. The spot is picturesque 
enough to be described. An old farm, surrounded by stone fences 
that look like ramparts, constitutes the camp. The Hudson and 
Harlem rivers are in full view, and the country around is full of 
beauty. On the first night we bivouacked upon the bare sod, with 
no covering for our bodies but the broad canopy of heaven. It was 
not until a late hour on tlie following afternoon that our white 
tents began to dot the ground and gleam through the dark foliage 
of the trees. 

Crowds of visitors from the neighboring village come out every 
day to see us. My health was never better, and this sort of life 
aflx>rds me keen enjoyment. The very roughness of it is invigor- 
ating. My present writing-desk is the top of the stone wall I have 
alluded to, so you must criticise neither ray penmanship nor my 
style. I received a letter from father on Tuesday afternoon, ami, 
thank God ! I enter the service with his full approb.ition The dis- 
cipline enforced here is rigid, our rations are good, fruit is very 
abundant, and to be had for the asking; so that if you will otdy write 
soon and often, there will be little else required to fill the wants of 
Your affectionate brother, Willard. 

Fortunately for their future comfort, the Harris 
Light Cavalry, at the very outset of its military 
career, was placed under tlie cliarge of a rigid and 
skilful disciplinarian — one Captain A. N. Duffie — who, 
liaving graduated honorably at the celebrated French 
military school, St. Cyr, possessed all the martial 
enthusiasm as well as personal peculiarities of his; 
excitable countrymen. 



CAPTAIN DUFFLE. 121 

The captain either was, or believed himself to be, 
an eloquent speaker, and his efforts at rhetorical display, 
added to his French accentuation of English words, 
became a source of great amusement to the men. He 
was wont to harangue them, as if they were about to 
enter upon a sanguinary battle. The old stone walls of 
the peaceful farm were pictured as bristling with the 
enemy's bayonets, and the boys were called on to 
"charge" at the hidden foe and capture him. 

"One morning," says Captain Glazier, "after a 
week spent in drill, we were all surprised by receiving 
an order to ' fall into line,' and discovered that the 
object of this movement was to listen to a Napoleonic 
harangue from Captain Duffie. So loud had been our 
protests, so manifest our rebellious spirit on the sub- 
ject of fortifying a peaceful farm on the banks of the 
Hudson, that the captain undoubtedly feared he 
might not be very zealously supported by us in his 
future movements, and, like Napoleon on assuming 
command of the Army of Italy, sought to test the 
devotion of his men. After amusing us a while in 
broken English, appealing to our patriotism and honor, 
he at length shouted : 

" ' Now, as many of you as are ready to follow me 
to the cannon's mouth, take one step to the front ! ' 

" This ruse was perfectly successful, and the whole 
line took the desired step." 

The time passed pleasantly enough in tliis camp of 
instruction, despite the monotony of drill and guar<l 
duty, and, by the time the order to break camp reached 
the men, they were well advanced in the duties of the 
soldier. 

The regiment left Camp Howe about the end of 



122 SWORD AND PEN. 

August, and, passing through New York, entered that 
most beautiful and patriotic of cities, Philadelphia, 
where they were royally entertained by the managers 
of the "Volunteer Refreshment Saloon." They at 
length reached Washington and encamped a half mile 
beyond the Ca})itol. 

From this point Glazier writes to his mother as 
follows: 

Camp Oregon, Washington, D. C, Augmt 2Sth, 1861. 
Dear Mother: I am at present seated under the branches of a 
large peach tree that marks tlie spot where two sentinels of our 
army, while on duty last night, were shot by the rebels. I was one 
of the same guard, having been assigned to such duty for the first 
time since entering the service. Like all other sentinels, I was 
obliged to walk my lonely beat with drawn sabre. 

It may interest you to know where I walked my first beat. 
It was in front of the residence of a rabid secessionist, who is now 
an officer in the famous Black-Horse Cavalry. You may reinember 
that this regiment was reported to have been utterly destroyed at 
Hull Run, and yet I am informed by Washingtonians that it had 
but two conjpanies in the fight. 
So much for newspaper gossip. 

During the day I was very kindly treated by the family of this 
gentleman, but in the evening our camp commander came to me 
and said : " Take this revolver, and if you value your life, be 
vigilant. 

'■'Remember, you are not at Scarsdale now ! " 

He, of course, referred to our old camp near Scarsdale, twenty- 
four miles from New York. Our present one is a little over half 
a mile from the Capitol, and from ray tent I can see the dome of 
that building, glittering, like a ball of gold, in the sunlight. 

Yesterday I paid a visit to the city. The streets were crowded 
with infantry, artillery and cavalry soldiers, all actively engaged in 
preparing for the coming conflict. An engagement seems to be 
close at hand. Entrenchments are being dus: and bntteries erected 
in every direction. The citizens do not apprehtiid any danger from 
an attack by the enemy. 

My regiment has been attached to Brigadier-General Baker\ 



LETTER TO HIS MOTHER. 123 

Brigade. It will be three weeks to-morrow since I enlisted. I have 
been in this camp one week, and one week was spent at Camp 
Howe, Scarsdale, New York. 

We are being rapidly prepared for field service. Our drill is 
very rigid, yet I submit to tiie discipline willingly, and I find that 
hard study is as essential to the composition of a good soldier as .to 
a good teacher. I have purchased a copy of the " Cavalry Tactics," 
and devote every leisure hour to its mastery. There is but one 
thing which gives me any serious annoyance now, and that is the 
question of the ways and means for the education of my brothers and 
sisters. I cannot assist them at present, though they will ever have 
my best wishes. I think Elvira and Marjorie had better teach this 
winter, and then, if the war should be concluded before next spring, 
I will make arrangements for their attendance at school again. 
With kindest love to all, I am your loving and dutiful son, 

WiLLARD. 

About two months more were occupied by the Har- 
ris Light in camp-duty, scouting and foraging, but 
almost immediately after their arrival in Virginia, 
young Glazier was promoted to the rank of Corporal. 
Shortly after his promotion he was detailed for re- 
cruiting service and sent to the city of New York for 
that purpose. The great city was in a turmoil of ex- 
citement. 

The " Tammany " organization carried things with 
a high hand, and was opposed by the equally powerful 
Union League. Between these two centres the cur- 
rent of public opinion ran in strong tides. But, in the 
midst of it all, the young corporal was successful in his 
recruiting service, and on the second day of December 
rejoined his comrades, who were then at Camp Pal- 
mer, Arlington Heights. 

This spot was one of peculiar beauty. Its associa- 
tions were hallowed. There stood the ancestral home 
of the Lees, whose deserted rooms seemed haunted 
with memories of a noble race. Its floors had echoed 



124 SWORD AND J 'EN. 

to the tread of youtli and beauty. Its walls had wit- 
nessed gatherings of renown. From its portals rode 
General Lee to take command of the Richmond troops 
— a man who must be revered for his qualities of 
heart and remembered especially by the North as one 
who, amid all the fury of passion which the war en- 
gendered, wiis never betrayed into an intemperate 
expression towards the enemy. Kow^ the halls and 
porches of the quaint old building rang with the tread 
of armed men. Its rooms were despoiled, and that 
atmosphere of desolaticm which ever clings about a 
deserted home, enveloped the place. A winding 
roadway under thick foliaged trees, led down the 
Heights to the " Long Bridge," crossing the Potomac. 
Near the house stood an old-fashioned " well sweep " 
which carried a moss-covered bucket on its trips down 
the well, to bring up the most sparkling of water. In- 
stinctively a feeling of sadness took possession of the 
heart at the mournful contrast between the past and 
present of this beautiful spot. 

"Ah, crueler than fire or flood 
Come steps of men of alien blood. 
And silently the treacherous air 
Closes — and keeps no token, where 
Its dead are buried." 

The day of trial — the baptism of battle — seemed 
rapidly approaching. General McClellan, having 
drilled and manoeuvred and viewed and reviewed the 
Army of the Potomac, until what had been little bet- 
ter than an armed and uniformed mob began to assume 
the aspect of a body of regulars, determined upon an 
advance movement. Accordingly on the third of 
March, 1862, the army marched upon Centreville, 



GENERAL KILPATRICK. 125 

captured the " Quaker " guns and, niTich to the disgust 
of his followers, fell back upon his original position, 
instead of continuing the advance. 

As the Harris Light enjoyed throughout this cam- 
paign of magnificent possibilities, the honor of being 
** Little Mac's " body guard, they were of course during 
the forward movement in high spirits. They believed 
it to be the initial step to a vigorous campaign in 
which they might hold the post of honor. But when 
the order to fall back came, their disappointment was 
great indeed. At first they were mystified, but it 
soon leaked out that a council of war had been held 
and that McClellau's plan of the Peninsular Campaign 
had been adopted. 

It had also been determined that a section of the 
army should be left behind, under the command of 
General Irvin McDowell, to guard the approaches to 
Washington. 

The First Pennsylvania Cavalry, under the command 
of General (then Colonel) George Dashiel Bayard, and 
the Harris Light, remained with the latter force. 
Under such a leader as Bayard, the men could have no 
fear of rusting in inactivity. He was the soul of honor, 
the bravest of the brave. No more gallant spirit ever 
took up the sword, no kinder heart ever tempered 
valor, no life was more stainless, no death could be 
more sad; for the day that was appointed for his nup- 
tials closed over his grave. 

Judson Kilpatrick, one of those restless, nervous, 
energetic and self-reliant spirits who believe in them- 
selves thoroughly, and make up in activity what they 
lack in method, was Colonel of the Harris Light, and 
the dawning glory of young Bayard's fame excited a 



126 SWORD AND PEN. 

spirit of emulation, if not of envy in his heart, which 
found vent in a very creditable desire to equal or 
excel that leader in the field. The brilliant night 
attack on Falmouth Heights was one of the first 
results of this rivalry, and as it was also the initial 
battle in Corporal Glazier's experience, we give his 
own vivid description of it as it is found in "Three 
Years in the Federal Cavalry." 

"Our instructions," he says, "were conveyed to u? 
in a whisper. A beautiful, moonlight fell upon the 
scene, which was as still as death ; and with proud 
determination the two young cavalry chieftains moved 
forward to the night's fray. Bayard was to attack on 
the main road in front, but not until Kilpatrick had 
commenced operations on their right flank, by a detour 
through a narrow and neglected wood-patli. As the 
Heights were considered well-nigh impregnable, it was 
necessary tq resort to some stratagem, for which Kil- 
patrick showed a becoming aptness. 

"Having approached to within liearing distance of the 
rebel pickets, but before we were challenged, Kilpat- 
rick shouted with his clear voice, which sounded like a 
trumpet on the still night air: 

"^Bring up your artillery in the centre, and infantry 
on the left!' 

"'Well, but. Colonel,' said an honest but obtuse Cap- 
tain, * we haven't got any inf — ' 

"'Silence in the ranks!' commanded the leader. 
'Artillery in the centre, infantry on the left ! ' 

" The pickets caught and spread the alarm and thus 
greatly facilitated our hazardous enterprise. 

"'Chariie!' was the order which then thrilled the 
ranks, and echoed through the dark, dismal woods; 



PRIVATIONS OF A SOLDIER. 127 

and the column swept up the rugged heights in the 
midst of blazing cannon and rattling musketry. 

'*So steep was the ascent that not a few saddles slipped 
oflf the horses, precipitating their riders into a creek 
which flowed lazily at the base of a hill ; while others 
fell dead and dying, struck by tlie missiles of destruc- 
tion which filled the air. But the field was won, and 
the enemy, driven at the point of the sabre, fled uncere- 
moniously down the heights, through Falmouth and 
over the bridge which spanned the Rappahannock, 
burning that beautiful structure behind them, to pre- 
vent pursuit." 

This engagement, while otherwise of but little 
importance, was valuable because it taught the enemy 
that the Federals could use the cavalry arm of the 
service as effectively as their infantry. 

All accounts agree that Corporal Glazier acquitted 
himself very creditably in his first battle. After the 
action was over he accompanied his comrades to the 
field and contributed his best aid towards the care of 
the wounded and the unburied dead. Such an experi- 
ence was full of painful contrast to the quiet scenes of 
home and school life to which he had hitherto been 
accustomed. In his history, as with thousands of 
other brave boys who missed death through many 
battles, this period was the sharp prelude to a long 
experience of successive conflicts, of weary marches 
seasoned with^hunger, of prison starvation and the 
many privations which fall to the lot of the soldier, all 
glorified when given freely in the defence of liberty 
and country. 



CHAPTER XII. 

FIRST BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION. 

The sentinel's lonely^ round. — General Pope in command of he 
army. — Is gunboat service effective? — First cavalry batth, of 
Brandy Station. — Under a rain of bullets. — Flipper's orchard. — 
"Bring up tlie brigade, boys ! " — Capture of Confederate prison- 
ers. — Story of a revolver. — Cedar Mountain. — Burial of the dead 
rebel. — Retreat from the Rapidan. — The riderless horse. — Death 
of Captain Walters. 

THE Harris Light now entered upon exciting- 
times, and Corporal Glazier, ever at the post of 
duty, had little leisure for anything unconnected with 
the exigencies of camp and field. At that period the 
men of both armies were guilty of the barbarous prac- 
tice of shooting solitary sentinels on their rounds, and 
no man went on o;uard at nio-ht without feelino; that an 
inglorious death might await him in the darkness, 
while deprived of the power to strike a defensive blow, 
or to breathe a prayer. 

On the twenty-second of July, 1862, a new com- 
mander was assigned the Army of Virginia in the 
jierson of General John Pope. General McClellan 
had lost the confidence of the Northern people by his 
continued disasters, and was at length superceded by 
General Pope, who was placed at the head of the united 
commands of Fremont, Banks, McDowell (and later 
in August), Bnrnside and Fitz-John Porter. General 
Pope commenced his duties with a ringing address to 
(128) 



GUNBOAT SERVICE. 129 

the army under his command. Among otlier things, 
he declared: "That he had heard much of Mines of 
communication and retreat,' but the only line in his 
opinion, that a general should know anything about, 
was the line of the enemy^s retreatJ'^ The dash of such 
a theory of war was extremely invigorating, and once 
more the hearts of the Northern people cherished and 
exulted in the hope that they had found the " right 
man for the right place." Popular enthusiasm reacted 
upon the army ; their idol of yesterday was dethroned, 
and they girded their loins for a renewal of the strug- 
gle, in the full belief that, with Pope to lead them, 
they would write a very different chapter upon the 
page of History, from that which recorded their Pen- 
insular campaign. 

Here we desire to correct a statement, then current, 
regarding the value of the gunboat service, viz., that 
McClellan's army was indebted for its safety during 
the retreat from Malvern Hill to the gunboats stationed 
in James River. That this was not the case is proven 
by the testimony of L. L. Dabney, chief-of-staff to 
General T. J. Jackson. He says : " It is a fact 
worthy of note, that the fire of the gunboats, so much 
valued by the Federals, and, at one time, so much 
dreaded by the Confederates, had no actual influence 
whatever in the battle. The noise and fury doubtless 
produced a certain effect upon the emotions of tlie as- 
sailants, but this was dependent upon their novelty. 
The loss effected by them was trivial when compared 
with the ravages of the field artillery ; and it was found 
chiefly among their own friends. Far more of their 
ponderous missiles fell within their own lines than 
within those of the Confederates. Indeed, a fire directed 



130 SWORD AND PEN. 

at an invisible foe across two or three miles of interven- 
ing hills and woods can never reach its aim, save by 
accident. Nor is the havoc wrought by the larger 
projectiles in proportion to their magnitude. Where 
one of them explodes against a human body it does 
indeed, crush it into a frightful mass, but it is not 
more likely to strike more men, in the open order of 
field operations, than a shot of less pounds ; and the 
wretch blown to atoms by it is not put hors de combat 
more effectually than he whose brain is penetrated by 
half an ounce of lead or iron. The broadside of a 
modern gunboat may consist of three hundred pounds 
of iron projected by forty pounds of powder, but it is 
fired from onlyJ?^o guns. The effect upon a line of 
men, therefore, is but one-fifteenth of that which the 
same metal might have had, fired from ten-pounder 
rifled guns." 

The truth of the matter is, that so far as offensive 
operations in conjunction with that army were con- 
cerned, the gunboats were more ornate than useful; 
and it is not just that the modicum of glory (mingled 
with so much of disaster), won fairly upon that occasion 
by the land forces, should be awarded to another branch 
of the service. 

General Pope was not permitted to remain long be- 
fore an opportunity offered for practically testing liis 
war theories. McClellan's troops had scarcely re- 
covered breath after their retreat from before Rich- 
mond when Lee, leaving his entrenchments, boldly 
threw himself forward and met Pope and the Union 
forces, face to face on the old battle-ground of Man- 
assas. The Harris Light, prior to the second battle 
of Bull Run, had been offered, and eagerly accepted, 



HAND-TO-HAND ENCOUNTER. 131 

an opportunity to cross swords with tlie '^ Southern 
chivahy/' and the result now was a desperate encounter 
at Brandy Station. The first action which baj)tized 
in blood this historic ground took place August 
twentieth, 1862. About six o'clock in the morning a 
heavy column of Stuart's cavalry was discovered ap- 
proaching from the direction of Culpepper, and Kil- 
patrick received orders to check their advance. The 
Harris Light, acting as rear -guard of Bayard's 
brigade, kept the enemy in check until Bayard could 
form his command at a more favorable point two miles 
north of the station. Corporal Glazier was in the 
front rank of the first squadron that led the charge, 
and repulsed the enemy. His horse was wounded in 
the neck, and his saddle and canteen perforated with 
bullets. 

The fight at riip[)er's Orchard preceded that at 
Brandy Station by more than a month, having occurred 
on the Fourth of July. The Troy company of the 
Harris Light had been ordered, about eight o'clock in 
the morning of that day, to reconnoitre the Telegraph 
K-oad, south of Fredericksburg. Leaving camp, they 
soon came in sight of a detachment of Bath cavalry on 
patrol duty, escorting the Kichmond mail. They 
learned the strength of the enemy from some colored 
people along the route, and also the probability that 
they would halt at Flipper's Orchard for refreshments. 
This place was on the south bank of the Po River, 
some twenty miles from Fredericksburg, in an angle 
formed by the roads leading to Bull Church and the 
Rappahannock. After following them for several 
hours, the company halted for consultation, "and,^' 
says Glazier, " our lieutenant put the question to vote, 



132 SWORD AND PEN. 

whether we sliould go on and capture the foe, about 
one hundred strong, or return to camp. The vote was 
unanimous for battle. I was in charge of the advance 
guard, having a squad of four men, and received orders 
to strike a gallop. Just as we came within sight of 
the Orchard, we saw the Confederates dismounting 
and making leisurely arrangements for their repast. 
Dashing spurs into our horses' flanks, we wheeled 
round the corner and along the Bull Church Road, 
sweeping down upon them with tremendous clatter. 
'Here they are, boys!' I shouted; 'bring up the 
brigade!' We were about forty in number, but sur- 
prised them completely, and they fled panic-stricken. 
Twelve men and nine horses were captured. On 
reaching Dr. Flipper's house, I noticed a dismounted 
Confederate officer who, with others, was running 
across a wheat-field. I started in hot pursuit, jump- 
ing my horse over a six-rail fence to reach him. He 
fired upon me with both carbine and revolver, but 
missed his mark, and by this time I stood over him with 
my navy-revolver, demanding his surrender. He gave 
up his arms and equipments, which were speedily 
transferred to my own person. We made quick work 
of the fight, the whole affair lasting not longer than 
fifteen minutes. The Confederate reserves were only 
a short distance off at Bull Church, and we hurried 
back with our spoils towards the Rappahannock, fear- 
ful that we might be overtaken. My prisoner, as I 
afterward learned, was Lieutenant Powell, in command 
of the patrol. His revolver has a story of its own. It 
was a beautiful silver-mounted weapon, and I resolved 
to keep possession of it as my especial trophy, instead 
of turning it over to the Quartermaster's Department. 



A BEAD CONFEDERATE. 133 

This was not an easy matter, as vigilant eyes were on 
the look-out for all ' munitions of war captured from 
the enemy/ which were consigned to a common recep- 
tacle. I therefore dug a hole in the ground of our tent 
and buried my treasure, where it remained until we 
changed our encampment. One day, some time after, 
I carelessly left it lying on a log, a short distance from 
camp, and on returning found it gone. While I stood 
there deploring my ill luck, I heard a succession of 
clear, snapping shots just beyond a rise of ground di- 
rectly in front of me, and recognized the familiar report 
of my revolver. Going in the direction of the shots, I 
rescued it from the hands of a sergeant by whom it had 
been temporarily confiscated. After this adventure I 
concluded to incur no further risks with the weapon, 
and so packed it in a cigar-box and sent it to my sister 
Elvira." 

The battle of Cedar Mountain, fought on the after- 
noon of August ninth, 1862, needs* only a passing 
notice in connection with this record. The battalion 
in which Corporal Glazier served acted as body-guard 
to General McDowell, and arrived on the field just 
as the wave of battle was receding. The following 
morning, on passing over the slopes of Cedar Moun- 
tain, where the guns of General Banks had made sad 
havoc on the previous day, a dead Confederate sol- 
dier, partially unburied, attracted the attention of the 
troopers. At that period of the war a sentiment of 
extreme bitterness toward the adversary pervaded the 
ranks on both sides, and as the squadron swept by 
the men showered on the poor dead body remarks ex- 
pressive of their contempt. Corporal Glazier was an 
exception. Moved by an impulse born of our com- 



134 SWORD AM) I'J:X. 

mon humanity, he returned and buried the cold, stark 
corpse, covering it with mother Earth ; and when 
Questioned why he gave such consideration to a mis- 
erable dead rebel, replied, that he thought any man 
brave enough to die for a ])rinciple, should be re- 
spected for that bravery, whether his cause were right 
or wronff. 

On the eighteenth of the month our cavalry relieved 
the infantry on the line of the Ra})idan, and on the 
nineteenth, in a sharp skirmish between Stuart's and 
Hayard's forces, Cai)tain Chai-les Walters, of the Harris 
Light Cavalry, was killed. This officer was very pop- 
ular in the regiment, and his death cast a gloom over 
all. Wrapped in a soldier's blanket his body wafc 
consigned to a soldier's grave at the solemn hour of 
midnight. And while the sad obsequies were being 
performed, orders came for the retreat to Culpepper. 

" We buried him darkly at dead of night, 
Tlie sod with our bayonets turning, 
By the struggling moonbeam's misty light, 
And our lanterns dimly burning. 

"Slowly and sadly we laid him down, 

On the field of his fame fresh and gory ; 
We carved not a line, we raised not a stone. 
But left him alone with his glory.' 



CHAPTER XITT. 

MANASSAS AND FREDERICKSBURG. 

e»fanas«!as. — The flying troops. — The unknown hero. — Desperate a^ 
tempt to stop the retreat. — Recruiting the decimated ranks. — 
Fredericksburg. — Bravery of Meagher's brigade. — The impreg- 
nable heights. — The cost of battles. — Death of Bayard. — Outline 
of his life. 

THE plains of Manassas still speak to us. The 
smoke of battle that once hung over them has 
long since rolled away, but the blood of over forty- 
thousand brave men of both North and South wlio 
here met, and fighting fell to rise no more, consecrates 
the soil. Between them and us the grass has grown 
green for many and many a summer, but it cannot 
hide the memory of their glorious deeds. From this 
altar of sacrifice the incense yet sweeps heavenward. 
The waters of Bull Run Creek swirl against their 
banks as of old, and, to the heedless passer-by, utter 
nothing of the despairing time when red carnage held 
awful sway, and counted its victims by the thousand; 
yet, if one strays hither ward who can listen to the 
mystic language of the waves, they will reword their 
burden of death and of dark disaster which " followed 
fast and followed faster," and at last overtook the 
devoted Northern army, and made wild confusion and 
wilder flight. 

No general description of the battle need be given 
here. That portion only which concerns the subject of 
this biography, now promoted to the rank of Sergeant, 

(135) 



136 SWORD AND PEN. 

will be set in the framework of these pages. Con- 
cerning tlie })art which he took in the action, and 
which occurred under his own observation, he says: 

^' On the eventful thirtieth — it was August, 1862 — 
our artillery occupied tjie crest of a hill a short distance 
beyond Bull Run Creek, the cavalry regiments under 
Bayard being stationed next, and the infantry drawn 
up in line behind the cavalry. 

"A short time before the battle opened, I was sent 
to a distant ])art of the field to deliver an order. An 
ominous stillness pervaded the ranks. The pickets as 
I passed them were silent, with faces firmly set towards 
the front, and the shadow of coming battle hovercvi 
portentously, like a cloud with veiled lightnings, over 
the Union lines. 

"It was the calm which precedes a storm, and the 
thunderbolts of war fell fast and heavy when the storm 
at length broke over our heads. I had just taken 
my place in the cavalry ranks when a shell from the 
enemy's guns \vhizzcd over our heads with a long and 
spiteful shriek. One of the horses attached to a 
caisson was in the path of the fiery missile, and the 
next instant the animal's head was severed entirely 
from his neck. The deathly silence was now broken, 
and more shot and shell followed in quick succession, 
plowing through the startled air and falling with 
destructive force among the Union troops. This iron 
hail from the guns of the enemy was composed in 
part of old pieces of chain and broken iron rails, as 
well as the shot and shell ordinarily used. Our artillery 
soon replied, but from some unexplained cause thi' 
Union troops in this ])ortion of our line broke and fled 
in panic before a shot had been fired from the muskets 



AN . UNKNO WN HERO. 137 

of the enemy. This battle, like the first Ball Run, 
had been well planned, and every effort which good 
generalship and good judgment could dictate in order 
to insure success, had been made by Generals Pope 
and McDowell. 

"At this crisis of affairs, the cavalry under Bayard 
and Kilpatrick were ordered to the rear, to stem, if 
possible, the tide of retreat, but the effort was well nigh 
fruitless. Regiment after regiment surged by in one 
continuous and almost resistless wave. A cheer was 
heard to go up from the Confederate ranks as Stuart's 
cavalry charged us, and though we returned the charge 
it did not stop the panic which had taken possession of 
our troops. 

" One of its causes was undoubtedly the supposition 
that the enemy was executing a flank movement on our 
left. In forty-five minutes from the beginning of the 
battle, this part of the army was in full retreat; but 
the determined stand made by Heintzelman, and also 
one or two heroic attempts to stop the backward- 
surging wave, saved our forces from utter rout and 
possible capture. 

"As soon as the Union batteries were taken by the 
enemy, they were turned upon us, in addition to their 
own guns, and afterwards, on came Stuart in a head- 
long charge with one of those hideous yells peculiar to 
the Southern ' chivalry.' With thousands of others 
who were rapidly retiring, I had recrossed Bull Run 
Creek when my attention was arrested by a mounted 
officer who sprang out from the mass of flying men, 
and waving his sword above his head, called on every 
one, irrespective of regiment, to rally around him 
and face the foe. He wore no golden leaf — no silver 



ISS SWORD AND PEN. 

star. He was appealing to ofTicors higher in command 
than himself, who, mixed with the crowd, were hurry- 
ing by. His manner, tense with excitement, was 
strung up to the pitch of heroism, and his presence 
was like an inspiration, as he stood outside the mass, 
a mark for the bullets of the enemy. 

"I halted, filled with admiration for so noble an ex- 
ample of valor, and then rode rapidly towards him. 
Seeing me, he galloped forward to meet me and asked 
ray aid in making a stand against the enemy. 

"^Sergeant,' said he, ^ you are just in time. As 
you are mounted, you can be of great service in rally- 
ing these men for a stand on this ground.' 

" ^ Lieutenant,' I replied, ^ they will not listen to 
the wearer of these chevrons.' 

" * Tear off your chevrons,' said this unknown hero, 
— ' the infantry will not know you from a field offi- 
cer — and get as many men to turn their muskets to 
the front as you can.' 

" * Lieutenant,' I responded^ ' I will do all I can to 
help you,' and the insignia of non-commissioned rank 
was immediately stripped from my sleeves. 

" I put myself under his command and fought with 
him until he gave the order to retire. "While he was 
talking with me he was at the same time calling on 
the men to make a stand, telling them they could 
easily hold the position. He seemed to take in the 
situation at a glance. 

" The enemy having advanced to the first crest of 
hills, were throwing their infantry forward with full 
force, and with the three thousand or more of men who 
rallied around this heroic officer, a stand was made 
on the rising ground north of Bull Run from which 



A SOLDIERS TEARS, 139 

the advance of the enemy was opposed. We held 
this position for half an hour, which gave considerable 
time for reorganization. 

" While riding along the line, helping my un- 
known superior as best I could, my horse was shot — 
the first experience of this kind which had befallen 
me. 

'' Just as the disaster was occurring which culminated 
in retreat. General McDowell, on his white horse, gal- 
loped up to the guns behind which Heintzelman was 
blazing destruction on the Confederates. Alighting 
from his horse he sighted the guns and gave a per- 
sonal superintendence to this part of the action. An 
artillery captain, standing by his battery while his 
horses were shot down, his pieces in part disabled, 
and the infantry deserting him, shed tears in conse- 
quence. 

" ^ You need not feel badly over this affair,' said 
the general, ' General McDowell is responsible for 
this misfortune. Stand by your guns as long as you 
can. If the general is blamed, your^ bravery will be 
praised.' 

^*Was there a touch of irony in this remark which 
met in advance the grumblings and questionings 
of the future? Was it the sarcasm of a man who, 
having done his utmost, could not yet prevent dis- 
aster, and who knew that an unthinking public some- 
times measured loyalty by success ? 
» "Later in the day our regiment — the ^Harris Light 
Cavalry' — lost a squadron. Most of them were 
killed. 

" In the deepening twilight we charged the enemy just 
as they were forming for a similar attack on us. They 



140 SWOED AND PEN. 

were compelled to halt, and Pope was thus enabled 
to discover their position and arrange for the next 
day's defence. 

*'On the night of the tiiirtieth, the enemy occupied 
the battle-field and buried the dead of both armies. 
And thus it was that Bull Run again ran red with 
patriot blood and witnessed the retreat of the Union 
battalions. 

" By what strange fatality General Pope was allowed 
to struggle on alone against an army twice the size of 
the Federal force, has not been satisfactorily explained. 
One is almost tempted to believe, with astrologists, 
that baleful stars sometimes })reside with malign influ- 
ence over the destinies of battles, as they are said to do 
over individuals and nations." 

After the battle of Manassas, the Harris Light Cav- 
alry was so reduced in material that it was ordered 
into camp at Hall's Hill, near Washington, with a 
view of recruiting its wasted strength and numbers. 
They remained at that point until November, when 
they were again moved forward to form the principal 
picket line along the front, prior to the Federal disas- 
ter at Fredericksburg. 

Burnside, having strongly secured the mountain 
passes in the neighborhood, in order to conceal from 
Lee his real object, made a feint in the direction of 
Gordonsville ; but the keen eye of the Confederate gen- 
eralissimo penetrated his true design and took measures 
to defeat its accomplishment. Upon the eighth of this' 
month, a lively encounter between the Harris Light and 
a detachment of Confederate cavalry resulted in the 
defeat of the latter, and soon after, the regiment 
joined the main army. 



A FATAL ERROR. 141 

As all know, the battle of Fredericksburg was 
fought and lost during the three days interv^ening be- 
tween the thirteenth and sixteenth of December. 
Burnside's gallant army, in the midst of darkness, 
rain and tempestuous wind, came reeling back from a 
conflict of terrible ferocity and fatality. Six times in 
one day Meagher's gallant Irishmen were literally 
hurled against Marye's Heights, a point of almost im- 
pregnable strength, and which, even if carried, would 
still have exposed them to the commanding fire of 
other and stronger Confederate positions. 

Twenty times had charge and counter-charge swept 
the tide of battle to and fro — at what terrible cost, the 
killed and wounded, strewing the ground like leaves 
in the forest, made answer. Twelve thousand men lay 
dead on the field when the battle ended, and one 
thousand prisoners were taken, besides nine thousand 
stand of arms. 

Although this battle seems to have been well planned 
by General Burnside, a want of capacity to meet un- 
foreseen emergencies doubtless contributed to his defeat. 
He committed a fatal error at a critical moment, by 
sending General Franklin an equivocal recommenda- 
tion, instead of an order to attack the enemy in force. 
The enemy, however, though having nobly held their 
ground, could not boast of having advanced their lines 
by so much as a foot. There were, indeed, but few 
even of the Confederate officers, who knew they had 
been victorious, and the amazement of their army was 
beyond description when the gray dawn of the four- 
teenth of December revealed the deserted camps of the 
Federals, who had withdrawn their entire command 
during the night to the north side of the river. 



142 SWORD AND PEN. 

Had General Franklin brought his men into action, 
as he should have done, at the critical moment when 
the issue of the fight was trembling in the balance, the 
fortunes of this day woukl have terminated differently. 
Had the splendid divisions of brave Phil. Kearney or 
" Fighting Joe. Hooker" been ordered into the arena, 
and lent the inspiration of their presence to this hour 
of need, the scales of victory would have turned in an 
opposite direction. 

The " might have beens" always grow thickly from 
the soil of defeat. 

Among the lamented dead of this day's havoc, no loss 
was more keenly felt than that of Major-General George 
Dashiel Bayard. He was standing among a group of 
officers around the trunk of an old tree, near the head- 
quarters of Generals Franklin and Smith, when the 
enemy suddenly began to shell a battery near by, and 
one of the deadly missiles struck this gallant leader. 
He was carried to the field-hospital, mortally wounded. 

Quietly turning to the surgeon who examined his 
ghastly wounds, he asked "if there was any hope." 
On being informed that there was none, he proceeded 
with undisturbed ^.omposure, and without a murmur 
of pain, to dictate three letters. One of these was to 
his affianced bride. This day, it was said, had been 
appointed for his wedding. The time-hands marked 
the hour of eight when this letter was finished, and, as 
he uttered its closing words, his spirit fled from the 
shattered body and left it only cold and tenantless clay. 
He was but twenty-eight years of age, of prepossessing 
appearance and manners, with as brave a soul as ever 
defended the flag of the Union, and a capacity for 
military usefulness equal to any man in the service. 



OUTLINES OF BAYARD'S LIFE. 143 

Gradually he had arisen from one position of honor 
and responsibility to another, proving himself tried 
and true in each promotion, while his cavalry comrades 
especially were watching the developments of his 
growing power with unabating enthusiasm. 

Briefly, the outlines of his history are as follows: 

He was born December eighteenth, 1835, at Seneca 
Falls, New York, from whence, in 1842, he removed 
with his parents to Fairfield, Iowa. From this place 
he went to the Dorris Military Institute at St. Louis, 
Missouri, where he remained eighteen months. 

The family then removed to the East, and settled at 
Morristown, New Jersey. From Morristown, he en- 
tered West Point Academy. AVhen twenty years of 
age, he graduated with the highest honors, and, strange 
to say, it was through the offices of Jefferson 
Davis, then Secretary of War, that he was at once 
assigned to a cavalry regiment as second lieutenant. 
His subsequent career, so full of brilliance and the 
true spirit of heroism, is better known to the country. 

Watered by the dews of hallowed remembrance, his 
fame, as a sweet flower, still exhales its fragrance, and 
finds rich soil in the hearts of the people. 

" How sleep the brave who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes blest? 
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, 
Returns to deck their hallowed mould, 
She there shall dress a sweeter sod 
Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. 

" By fairy hands their knell is rung, 

By forms unseen their dirge is sung, 

There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, 

To bless the turf that wraps their clay. 

And Freedom shall awhile repair, 

To dwell a weeping hermit there." 
11 



CHAPTER XIV. 

UNWRITTEN HISTORY. 

"What boots a weapon in a withered hand?" — A thunderbolt 
wasted. — War upon hen-roosts. — A bit of unpublished history. — 
A fierce fight with Hampton's cavalry. — "In one red burial 
blent."— From camp to home. — Troubles never come singly. — The 
combat. — The capture. — A superfluity of Confederate politeness. 
— Lights and shadows. 

WHILE the events we have narrated were occur- 
ring, the ** Harris Light" was not idle. 
Under the command of their favorite Kilpatrick, they 
made a dashing raid, and completely encircled the 
rebels under Lee, penetrating to within seven miles of 
Richmond. Such duties as were assigned them were 
effectively performed, and yet, General Hooker's 
object in detaching his cavalry from the main army 
remained unaccomplished, either by reason of General 
Stoneman's want of comprehension, or want of energy. 
This general, instead of hurling his thirteen thousand 
troopers like a thunderbolt upon the body of the Con- 
federates, divided and frittered away the strength 
under his command by detaching and scattering it into 
mere scouting parties, to " raid on smoke-houses and 
capture hen-roosts." General Hooker was very natu- 
rally exasperated by this conduct. The detachment from 
tlie main army of such a splendid body of horse, was 
a measure he had taken after mature deliberation, and 
with the view of cutting off Lee's communications with 
Richmond ; thus precluding the possibility of his being 
(144) 



A BIT OF UNPUBLISHED HISTORY. 145 

reinforced during the grand attack which Hooker 
contemplated upon that leader at Chancclorsville. 

The Federal general attributed the loss of that battle 
in a great degree to Stoneraan's failure to carry out the 
spirit of his orders. In a letter to the author, long 
after that field of carnage had bloomed and blossomed 
with the flowers and fruits of Peace, when the heart- 
burning and fever engendered by the contest had sub- 
sided, and it was possible to obtain access to men^s 
judgments, General Hooker wrote : " Soon after Stone- 
wall Jackson started to turn my right (a project of 
which I was informed by a prisoner), I despatched a 
courier to my right corps commander informing him 
of the intended movement, and instructing him to put 
himself in readiness to receive the attack. This dis- 
patch was dated at nine o'clock A. m., and yet, when 
^Stonewall ' did attack, the men of this corps had their 
arms stacked some distance from them, and were busily 
engaged in cooking their supper. When the attack 
came tiiese men ran like a flock of sheep. This, in a 
wooded country, where a coi'ps ought to be able to 
check the advance of a large army. To make this 
more clear, I must tell you that the corps commander, 
General Howard, received the dispatch while on his 
bed, and, after reading it, put it in his pocket, where 
it remained until after the battle of Gettysburg, with- 
out communicating its contents to his division com-, 
mander, or to any one ! ! ! My opinion is that not a 
gun of ours was fired upon Stonewall Jackson's force 
until he had passed nearly into the centre of my army. 
Judge, if you can, of the consternation throughout that 
army caused by this exhibition of negligence and 
cowardice. One word more, in regard to the cavalry. 



J46 SWORD AND PEN. 

I had to have, under the seniority rule of the service, 
a wooden man for its commander. If yon -will turn to 
the first volume of the Report of the Committee on 
the Conduct of the War, you will find my instructions 
to General Stoneman, and then you will see the mis- 
take that I made in informing him of the strength and 
position of the enemy he would be likely to encounter 
on his raid, as that officer only made use of the infor- 
mation to avoid the foe. He traveled at night, made 
extensive detours, and did not interrupt the traffic on 
the railroads between Lee's army and Richmond for a 
single day. As he was charged to make this duty his 
especial object of accomplishment over all others, he 
had twelve thousand sabres, double the force the enemy 
could collect from all quarters. I had men enough 
with me to have won Chancelorsville without the cav- 
alry and other corps, but of what use could a field of 
battle have been to me when the enemy could fall back 
a few miles and post himself on a field possessing still 
greater advantages to him? General Grant did this, 
and is entitled to all the merit of his soldiership from a 
grateful country. I believe if he had sacrificed every 
officer and soldier of his command in the attainment 
of this object, the country w^ould have applauded him. 
When I crossed the Rappahannock I aimed to capture 
General Lee's whole army and thus end the war, by 
manoeuvring, and not by butchery." 

While his superior in command did little that was 
practically useful with the cavalry, Kilpatrick covered 
his little band with glory, and gave the people of Rich- 
mond a scare as great as Stuart administered to our 
Quaker friends in Pennsylvania during his famous 
foray into the border counties of the Keystone State. 



THE ''HARRIS LIGHT" AT ALDIE. 1 47 

Their return was almost immediately followed by the 
second grand cavalry battle of Brandy Station, June 
ninth, 1863, a struggle as hotly contested as any 
that occurred during the war. In this encounter 
Sergeant Willard Glazier took part, leading the first 
platoon of the first battalion that crossed the Rappa- 
hannock. Matters were now assuming a warlike aspect. 
The Valley of the Shenandoah groaned beneath the 
tramp of the main army of the Confederacy, under 
Lee. The Federal general, Pleasanton, and the Con- 
federate general, Stuart, were in fierce conflict anxong 
the Blue Ridge mountains. 

At Aldie, on the seventeenth of June, 18G3, the 
"Harris Light '^ led the division under Kilpatrick, 
Glazier's squadron again being the advance guard, his 
place at the head of the long column which wound 
down the road. As they came upon Aldie, the ene- 
my's advance, under W. H. F. Lee, was unexpectedly 
encountered. But Kilpatrick was equal to the occa- 
sion. Dashing to the front, his voice rang out, "Form 
platoons! trot! march!" Down through the streets 
they charged, and along the Middleburg Road, leading 
over the low hill beyond. This position was gained 
so quickly and gallantly that Fitzhugh Lee, taken by 
surprise, made no opposition to the brilliant advance, 
though immediately afterward he fought for two hours 
to regain the lost position, while the guns of his bat- 
teries blazed destruction upon the Federal cavalry. 
The latter, however, handsomely repelled the attack. 

On the crest of the hill there was a field of haystacks, 
inclosed in a barricade of rails. Behind these the 
enemy occupied a strong position, and their sharp- 
shooters had annoyed Kilpatrick's lines to such an ex- 



148 SWORD AND PEN. 

tent as to prevent their advance on the left. It was 
well known to the officers of the *^ Harris Light" that 
their regiment had not met Kilpatrick's expectations 
on the field of Brandy Station, and on the morning 
of this battle they had asked their general for '^ an 
opportunity to retrieve their reputation. '^ This chance 
came soon enough. Kilpatrick, ordering forward a 
battalion of the " Harris Light," and giving the men 
a few words of encouragement, turned to Major Mc- 
Irvin and })ointing to the field of haystacks, said : 
" Major, there is the opportunity you ask for ! Go 
take that position ! " Away dashed the '^ Harris 
Light," and in a moment the enemy was reached and 
the struggle began. The horses could not leap the 
barricade, the men dismounted, scaled the barriers, 
and with drawn sabres rushed furiously upon the 
hidden foe, who quickly called for quarter. Aldie 
was by far the most bloody cavalry battle of the war. 
The rebel "chivalry" was beaten; Kilpatrick from 
this moment took a proud stand among the most 
famous of the Union cavalry generals, and the fame 
of the regiment was greatly enhanced. To quote our 
young soldier in '* Battles ibr the Union:" "Many a 
brave soul suf!ered death's sad eclipse at Aldie, and 
many escaped the storm of bullets when to escape was 
miraculous. Li looking back upon that desperate 
day, I have often wondered by what strange fatality I 
passed through its rain of fire unhurt; but the field 
which brought a harvest of death to so many others 
marked an era in my own humble, military history, 
which I recall with pride and pleasure, for from the 
Battle of Aldie I date my first commission. The mantle 
of rank which fell from one whom death had garnered 



A TERRIFIC ENCOUNTER. 149 

on that ground dropped upon ray shoulders, and I was 
proud and grateful to wear it in my country's service. 
I feel proud also of having been a participant in the 
* Battle of the Haystacks/ where the glorious squad- 
rons of the * Harris Light' swept into the mad con- 
flict with the same invincible bravery that distinguished 
them on the field of Brandy Station. Every soldier 
of the saddle who there fought under Kilpatrick may 
justly glory in the laurels won at A Idle.'' 

In the same month followed the engagements of 
Middleburg and Upperville, in each of which the 
*' Harris Light " participated with great eclat, charg- 
ing in face of the enemy's guns, forming in platoon 
under fire, and routing him in splendid style. At 
Upperville, Kilpatrick received orders to charge the 
town. With drawn sabres and shouts which made 
the mountains and plains resound, they rushed upon 
the foe. The encounter was terrific. The enemy's 
horse were driven through the village of Paris, and 
finally through Ashby's Gap upon their own infantry 
columns in the Shenandoah Valley. At Rector's 
Cross-Roads, where Kilpatrick ordered the "Harris 
Light" to charge the enemy's battery, as they were 
forming, a fatal bullet pierced Glazier's horse, and it 
fell dead under him. Fortunately he was not dragged 
down in the fall, and as he struck the ground a rider- 
less horse belonging to an Indiana company came up. 
Its owner, a sergeant, had been shot dead, and, rap- 
idly mounting. Lieutenant Glazier rode forward with 
his regiment as they valiantly charged the enemy's 
position. 

These actions were succeeded by the battle of Gettys- 
burg (July first, second and third), in which the 



150 SWORD AND PEN. 

disasters of Cliancelorsville and Fredericksburg were 
fully retrieved, and the rebel army, under Lee, re- 
ceived a blow so staggering in its elfects as to result 
in a loss of prestige, and all hope in the ultimate suc- 
cess of their cause. Prior to this battle the Con- 
federates had warred upon the North aggressively ; 
thenceforward they were compelled to act upon the 
defensive. During the progress of this great and (so 
far as the ultimate fate of the Confederacy was con- 
cerned) decisive battle, the cavalry, including the 
brigade to which our subject was attached, performed 
brilliant service. They held Stuart's force effectually 
at bay, and while the retreat of the rebel army was 
in progress their services were in constant requisition. 
On the first day of the battle. General John Buford, 
commanding the Third Cavalry Division, was in posi- 
tion on the Chambersburg Pike, about two miles west 
of the village. Early in the forenoon the vanguard 
of the rebel army appeared in front of them, and our 
dauntless troopers charged the enemy vigorously, and 
drove them back upon their reserves. 

The second day of the battle was spent by the 
cavalry in hard, bold and bloody work, in collision 
with their old antagonists, Stuart, Lee and Hampton. 
Charge succeeded charge ; the carbine, pistol and sabre 
were used by turns ; the artillery thundering long 
after the infantry around Gettysburg had sunk to rest 
exhausted with the carnage of the weary day. Stuart, 
however, was driven back on his supj^orts, and badly 
beaten. 

Upon the third day the sun rose bright and warm upon 
the bleached forms of the dead strewn over the san- 
guinary field; upon the wounded, and upon long, glisten- 



GETTYSBURG. 151 

ing lines of armed men ready to renew the conflict. 
Each antagonist, rousing every element of power, 
seemed resolved upon victory or death. Finally vic- 
tory sainted the Union banners, and with great loss the 
rebel army sounded the retreat. " Thus/' says Glazier 
in his "Battles for the Union "—''the Battle of Gettys- 
burg ended — the bloody turning-point of the rebellion 
— the bloody baptism of the redeemed republic. 
Nearly twenty thousand men from the Union ranks 
had been killed and wounded, and a larger number of 
the rebels, making the enormous aggregate of at least 
forty thousand, whose blood was shed to fertilize the 
Tree of Liberty." 

During this sanguinary battle, the cavalry were in 
daily and hourly conflict with the enemy's well-trained 
horse under their respective dashing leaders. The 
sabre was no "useless ornament," but a deadly weapon, 
and "dead cavalrymen" and their dead chargers, were 
sufficiently numerous to have drawn forth an exclama- 
tion of approval from even so exacting a commander as 
"Fighting Joe Hooker." Haggerstown, Boonsboro', 
Williamsportand Falling Waters, all attested the great 
efficiency of the cavalry arm, and at the end of the 
month it was an assured, confident and capable body of 
dragoons, that, according to Captain Glazier, "crossed 
the Rapidan for, as they believed, the purpose of a 
continued advance movement against the enemy." 

And here, parenthetically, we may observe, that he, 
and other recent writers (Mr. Lossing being an excep- 
tion), are scarcely accurate in so designating tiie river 
crossed by them as the Rapidan. It was the chief 
tributary of the Rappahannock, while two sister streams, 
which together form the Para un key, are known to local 
topography as the North and South Rn]->id Anna rivers. 



152 SWOUD AND PEN. 

It was a pleasant locality, and the "Harris Light " 
encamped there for several weeks, having no occupation 
more exciting or belligerent than picket duty. Duties 
of a more stirring character, were, however, awaiting 
them, and a^ these are intimately associated with the 
career of the subject of this history, the delineation of 
whose life is the purpose of the writer, we will give 
them something more than a cursory notice. 

We will first, however, take the opportunity of intro- 
ducing a letter from our young cavalryman to his 
parents, illustrative in some measure of his intelligence 
and soldierly qualities, while it is no less so of his 
sense of filial duty: 



r 



Headquarters Harris Light Cavalry, 
Near Hartwood Church, Va.' 
August 22d, 1863. 
Dear Father and Mother: 

Another birthday has rolled around, and finds me still in the 
army. Two years have passed since we were lying quietly in camp 
near Washington. Little did I think at that time that the insur- 
rection, which was then in process of organization, was of such 
mighty magnitude as to be able to continue in its treacherous de- 
signs until now. Newspaper quacks and mercenary correspondents 
kept facts from the public, and published falsehoods in their stead. 
Experience has at last taught us the true state of things, and 'we now 
feel that the great work of putting down the rebellion is tc be ac- 
complished only by energy, perseverance and unity. Our cause 
never looked more favorable than to day. It is no longer a rumor 
that Vicksburg and Port-Hudson have fallen, but a stern reality, an 
actual and glorious victory to our arms, and a sure exposure of the 
waning strength of the ill-fated Confederacy. Charleston and Mo- 
bile must soon follow the example of the West, and then the Array 
of the Potomac will strike the final blow in Virginia. 

Kilpatrick's cavalry is now watching the movements of the 
enemy on the Rappahannock — his head-quarters being near Hart- 
wood Church. I have seen nothing that would interest you much, 
save a few expeditions amongst the bushwhackers of Stafford County. 

It may not be uninteresting to you to learn that I have just been 
promoted to a lieutenancy, my commission to date from the seven- 



GENERAL MEADE. 153 

teenth of June. I have received four successive promotions since 
ray enlistment. Your son can boast that his Colonel says he has 
earned his commission. Political or monied influence has had 
nothing to do with it. I have been in command of a platoon or 
company ever since the thirteenth of last April, and have very fre- 
quently been in charge of a squadron. I conclude by asking you to 
remember me kindly to all my friends. 

And believe me, as ever, your dutiful son, 

WiLLARD. 

It will be remembered that the greater part of the 
spring of this year (1863), that is, from the time the 
Federal army moved from its winter-quarters in Staf- 
ford and King George counties, and all the early sum- 
mer, were passed by the belligerent forces in efforts to 
compel their adversaries to fall back on their respec- 
tive capitals. The people and the press on both sides 
were clamoring for the accomplishment of something 
definite, and when Vicksburg fell, and on the stricken 
field of Gettysburg, victory perched upon the Union 
banners, our hopes seemed on the point of realization, 
but the fall of the leaf found the hostile armies still 
confronting each other. Lee's force, though fear- 
fully shattered, maintained its organization, and to 
all appearance had lost little of its former self-con- 
fidence. General Meade, perhaps the most scientific 
strategist of all the generals who had held the chief 
command of the Army of the Potomac, was severely 
criticised, simply because he declined by "raw Haste, 
half-sister to Delay," to hazird the ultimate fruition of 
his well-laid plans; and Captain Glazier, it must be 
admitted, was one of his adverse critics. We think the 
censure was uncalled for. Wellington had but one 
Waterloo, and although to him was due the victory, it 
was the fresh army of Blucher that pursued the retreat- 



154 SWORD AND PEN. 



ing French, and made defeat irretrievable. But when- 
ever Lee, or McCIellan, Jackson, or Meade obtained a 
hard-earned victory, the people, on either side, were 
dissatisfied because their triumph was not followed up 
by, at once and forever, annihilating the foel 



CHAPTER Xy. 

FROM BATTLE-FIELD TO PRISON. 

A situation to try the stoutest hearts.— Hail Cohimbia !- -Every man 
a hero.— Kilpatrick's ingeruiity.— A pen-picture from " Soldiers of 
the Saddle."— Glazier thanked by his general.— Cessation of hos- 
tilities.— A black day.— Fitzhugh Lee proposes to crush Kil- 
patrick.-"Kirs"audacity.-Capture of Lieutenant Glazier.— Petty 
tyranny.—" Here, Yank, hand me that thar hat, and overcoat, 
and boots." 

AT this period of the war, the cavahy was sepa- 
rated into three divisions. Buford with his 
division fell back by the way of Stevensburg, and 
Gregg by Sulphur Springs ; leaving Kilpatrick with 
the brigades of Custer and Davies, which included the 
''Harris Light/'on the main thoroughfare along the 
railroad line. " No sooner/' says Glazier, " had Kil- 
patrick moved out of Culpepper, than Hampton's 
cavalry division made a furious attack upon the 
' Harris Light,' then acting as rear-guard, with the 
evident design of breaking through upon the main col- 
umn to disperse, or delay it, so as to enable a flanking 
force to intercept our retreat. Gallantly repelling this 
assault, the command, on the eleventh of October, 
advanced to Brandy Station, where an accumulation 
of formidable difficulties threatened our annihilation." 
It appears that Fitzhugh Lee, with the flower of the 
Confederate cavalry, had possession of the only road 
upon which it was possible for Kilpatrick to retire, 
while Stuart, at th^ head of another body of cavalry, 
supported bv artillerv well posted on a long line of 

(155) 



156 SWORD AND PEN. 

hills, completely covered the Federal left. Plis right 
was exposed to a galling fire from sharp-shooters hid- 
den behind the forest ; " while just behind them was 
Hampton's legion threatening speedy destruction to 
its surrounded foe/' Here was a situation to try the 
stoutest hearts. Nothing daunted, however, by this 
terrific array of an enemy very much his superior in 
numbers, Kilpatrick displayed that decision and dar- 
ing which ever characterized him. '^His preparations 
for a grand charge,'' for he had determined to cut his 
way out of this cul-de-sac^ " were soon completed. 
Forming his division into three lines of battle, he 
assigned the right to General Davies, the left to 
General Custer; and placing himself, with General 
Pleasanton, in the centre, advanced with terrible de- 
termination to the contest. Approaching to within a 
few yards of the enemy's lines, he ordered the band to 
strike up a national air, to whose stirring strains was 
added the blast of scores of bugles ringing out the 
* charge.' Brave hearts became braver, and weak ones 
waxed stronger, until ^ pride of country had touched 
this raging sea of thought, and emotion kindled an 
unconquerable principle that affirmed every man a 
hero until death.'" The troops filled the air with 
their battle-cry, and hurled themselves on their un- 
equal foe. " So swiftly swept forward this tide of 
animated power that the Confederates broke and fled, 
and Kilpatrick thus escaped a disaster which had 
seemed inevitable." 

" No one " — we quote from ^^ Soldiers of the Saddle," 
— "who looked upon that wonderful panorama, can 
ever forget it. On the great field were riderless 
horses and dying men ; clouds of dirt from solid shot 



GLAZIER THANKED BY HIS GENERAL. J 57 

and bursting shells, broken caissons, and overturned 
ambulances ; and long lines of dragoons dashing into the 
charge, with their drawn and firmly grasped sabres 
glistening in the light of the declining sun ; while far 
beyond the scene of tumult were the dark green forests 
skirting the distant Rappahannock." 

In this action Glazier, who occupied the post of 
volunteer aide to General Davies, had his horse shot 
under him, received a sabre-stroke on the shoulder, 
two bullets in his hat, and had his scabbard split by a 
shot or shell. His conduct was such as to obtain "for 
him the thanks of his general and a promise of early 
promotion. This was the fourth battle of Brandy Sta- 
tion in which the Harris Light Cavalry had been 
engaged. The first occurred on August the twentieth, 

1862, the second on June ninth, the third on Septem- 
ber twelfth, and this last action on October eleventh, 

1863. They were followed by a number of spirited 
engagements between the Federal cavalry and the 
cavaliers of the South— the former under Generals 
Buford and Kilpatrick, and the latter under Stuart and 
Wade Hampton. In all of these both sides behaved gal- 
lantly, the result being the masterly retreat of the Fed- 
erals across the Rappahannock to the old battle-ground 
of Bull Run, where they made a protracted halt. 

From this time until the fifteenth of October, 
nothing of sufficient importance transpired to require 
mention here. Upon that day an indecisive battle was 
fought at Bristoe Station, which was followed by an- 
other calm that continued until the nineteenth of 
October— a black day in the calendar of Willard 
Glazier^s life. 

Far away among the peaceful hills of his native 



158 SWORD AND PEN. 

State there fell upon his father's liouse a sorrow sneli 
as its inmates had never known before. Not that this 
family had eseaj)ed the ordinary bereavements of iuiman 
life. On the eontrary, two little ehildren had been 
taken from them at intervals of time whieh seemed to 
them cruelly brief. But the death of an inlant, while 
a sad, is a beautiful thing to witness. There is no 
flower that blooms on a l)aby grave that does not speak 
to the world-worn heart, of ImrnortaUty. The grief, 
therefore, is gentle in its touch. But with the ebb of a 
maturer life the sorrow is of a different character, and 
when the physician announced to this worthy couple 
that their daughter, Elvira, would die, they were 
stunned by the blow, and when the event came " they re- 
fused " like Rachel " to be comforted." The child that is 
jTjoing from us is, for the time, the favorite, and these 
afflicted parents could not realize that she who had grown 
up among them, the ewe lamb of their flock, could be 
torn from their loving arms, and go down, like coarser 
clay, to the dark grave. She was so good, so gentle, 
so loving to her kindred, that their simple hearts could 
not understand how God could let h.er die, in the very 
bloom and beauty of her maidenhood. But though 
crushed, they bowed their heads in submission. Their 
hearts were almost broken, but they rebelled not 
•against the Hand that chastened them. Wliy is it that 
such examples of tender feeling and unquestioning 
faith are seldom found in cities? Is it that '' the mem- 
ories which peaceful country scenes call up, are not of 
this world; nor of its thoughts and hopes?" That 
''their gentle influences teach us how to weave fresh gar- 
lands for the graves of those we love, purify our thoughts, 
and beat down old enmities and hatreds?" And that 



ELVIRA, 159 

"bcneatli all this tliorc lingers in the least reflective 
mind, a vague and half-formed conscion^sness of hav- 
ing held suL'ii feelings long before, which calls up sol- 
emn thoughts of distant times to come, and bends 
down pride and worldliness before it? '^ The physi- 
cian had said that Elvira would not live another day, 
and the mother sat down to the sad task of writing 
the mournful news to her soldier son. Meanwhile be- 
yond the Kaj)pahann()ck, a scene was on tlie eve of 
being enacted, which was destined to inflict upon her 
a pain as poignant as that she was now about to 
bestow. 

The night of October eighteenth was passed by 
Kilpatrick's command at Gainesville, but the first faint 
streak of dawn saw him and his faithful followers in 
the saddle, booted, spurred, and equipped for some 
enterprise as yet unexplained to them, but evidently, 
in their leader's estimation, one of " pith and moment.'^ 
At tiie word of command, the force, including the 
" Harris Light," moved forward at a quick trot, taking 
the road to \yarrenton, and anticipating a brush with 
Stuart's cavalry who, during the ])revious ten hours, 
had thrown out videttes in their immediate front. 

The surprise of the Federals was great to find their 
advance unimpeded, and that, instead of offering oppo- 
sition, the Confederates fell back as rai)idly as their 
opponents ai)proached. On they dashed, unopposed 
and unobstructed, until Buckland Mills was reached. 
At this point they found themselves checked, and in a 
manner that somewhat astounded them. As they ar- 
rived within a stone's throw of that village, Fitzhugh 
Lee, with his magnificent following, struck their flank. 
That astute and valiant officer, it appears, had cut his 



160 SWORD AND PEN. 

\vay tlirougli the Federal infaritiy at Thoroughfare- 
Gap, luid aceompanied by a battery of flying artilk-ry, 
swept down upon Kil[Kitriek, (h'signing to erush liini 
at a blow. General Stuart, taking in the situation, 
and keenly anxious to profit by the advantage thus 
afforded him, instantly turned upon anil eharged the 
Federals in his front, while, as if to niake their utter 
annihilation a certainty, the rebel General Gordon, 
with a third body of men (his proximity at that 
moment not being sus[)ected), bore down fiercely on 
their left, threatening to cut Kilpatriek's division in 
two. 

Kilpatrick possessed an extraordinary amount of 
ingenuity in devising means of escape from a dan- 
gerous position. In the present case his plan was 
formed in an instant, and executed as soon as formed. 
He immediately changed his front, and, without 
the slightest hesitation, headed a mad and des- 
perate charge upon Fitzhugh Lee's advancing column. 
The merit of the movement lay in its audacity ; it was 
the only one that promised the remotest chance of 
escape to the entrapped Federals. Executed with 
great ra{)idity and desperate dscision, the movement 
resulted in the salvation of the greater portion of his 
command. It so liappened, however, that the " Harris 
Light," originally, be it remembered, forming the 
vanguard of Kilpatriek's fnrce, was by this manoeuvre 
thrown round upon the rear, and Stuart, who was now 
the pursuer instead of the pursued, had a fine oppor- 
tunity of attacking them with his full force, at a great 
disadvantage to the former — an opportunity he was not 
slow to avail himself of. 

Kilpatriek's men met the assault manfully, retiring 



A fhisoneb of war, x61 

slowly, until at length, upon the brow of a small hill, 
they turned at bay, and for a time formed a li vino- 
rampart between their retreating comrades and the 
enemy. Every attempt to approach and penetrate 
their line proved instant death to their assailants, and 
General Stuart, seeing no chance of otherwise dislodg- 
ing them, determined to charge in person, and crush 
them with an entire division. Glazier, who had 
already eniptied two saddles, sat coolly upon his horse, 
reloading as this formidable body came sweeping 
down. By this time, experience of the vicissitudes of 
a soldier's career, and possibly the fact that he had 
hitherto been very fortunate in the numerous conflicts 
in which his regiment had been engaged, left him quite 
composed under fire. Singling out one of Stuart's 
men, he covered that cavalier with his revolver, and 
probably, in another instant, would have ended his 
career; but, just as his finger gave the fiuiil pressure 
upon the trigger, his horse, riddled with bullets, fell 
dead under him, the shot flew wide of its mark, and 
he fell to the ground. 

His first sensation was of a dense cloud between 
himself and the sky, and next of being crushed by 
tramping hoofs, whole squadrons of horse passing over 
his body as he lay prone and helpless. A vague, 
dreamy sensation of being a mass of wounds and 
bruises was succeeded by utter darkness and oblivion. 
How long he continued in this comatose state he never 
knew. Raised from the ground, a terrible sense of 
acute bodily pain gradually crept over him, as he 
found himself hurried along at a rapid pace. Where 
he was going, who had him in charge, what he had 
done, whether he was in this or some other world. 



{6 J SWORD AND PEN. 

were matters of wliicli lie had no more conception tlian 
the (lead charger he had ridden. Pain, pain, nothing 
but intense pain, absorbed the whole of his faenlties. 
Gradually ids full consciousness returned. He re- 
niend)ered the tierce onset of" the enemy, his fall ironi 
his horse, and at once concluded that he was a prisoner 
in the hands of the enemy! Very .soon after, he dis- 
covered that, in addition to being deprived of his 
arms, he had been stripped of his watch and other 
valuables. 

One of the great annoyances to which a newly 
captured prisoner was subjected, arose from the fact 
that skulkers and sneaks, in order to secure safe posi- 
tions, coveted and sought the privilege of quartering 
them. In his own words Glazier says: 

'•The woods in the vicinity were full of skulkers, 
and, in order to make a show of having something to 
do, they would make their appearance in the rear of 
the fiii;htino: column, and devote themselves sedulouslv 
to guarding the prisoners.'^ He adds, that "privates, 
corporals and sergeants, in turn, had them in charge;'^ 
and that *'each in succession would call them into liiie, 
count them in an officious manner, and issue orders 
according to their liking,'^ until some sneak of highei' 
rank came along, assumed the superior comman<l, and 
in a tone of authority, would say to the other pol- 
troons: ''Gentlemen, your services are much needed 
at the front. Go, and do your duty like soldiers." 
The result would be an exchange of tyrants, but no 
diminution of the petty tyranny. Atchisk the prison- 
ers were marched to, and lodged in, the jail at War- 



ROBBING PRISONERS. 163 

Like all Federal soKliers rvlio fell in(o the onciv.v's 
hands, Glazier complains very bitterly oi' the small 
persecutions inflicted by the officers and n)en of the 
Home Guard, and unfortunately these moniirels — a 
cross between a civilian and a soldier — were their 
chief custodians during that night, and signalized them- 
selves after their fashion. They deprived the prisoners 
of tiieir clothing, and, in truti), everything of the 
slightest value in the eyes of a thief. One of these 
swashbucklers attempted to reduce our young hero's 
wardrobe to an Arkansas basis, namely, a straw-hat 
and a pair of spurs, with what success the following 
dialogue, taken mainly from '* The Capture, Prison- 
Pen, and Escape," will indicate. 

''Here, Yank," said the guard, '' hand me that thar 
hat, and over-coat, and boots." 

"No, sir, I won't; they are my property. You have 
no right to take them from me." 

" I iiave," said the guard. " ^¥e have authority from 
General Stuart to take from you prisoners whatever 
we d — d choose." 

" That I doubt," said the captive, " and if you are a 
gentleman you won't be guilty of stripping a defence- 
less prisoner." 

"I'll show you my authority, you d — d blue-belly," 
said the ruffian, diawing his revolver. "Now, take 
off that coat, or I'll blow your brains out." 

By this time Glazier's Northern blood was up, and 
he grew desperate, so he angrily answered : 

" Blow away then ! It is as well to be without 
brains as without clothiuir." 

So the fellow, who was evidently a contemptible 
blusterer, whom General Stuart, had he been aware 



164 SWORD AND PEN. 

of Ills coiuhict, would liavc dnimmcd out of the 
army, not williug to risk tlie consequences of actual 
violence — sneaked away. 

^Viiile this little incident was occurring at Warren- 
ton jail, a very dill'erent event was transpiring at his 
father's house. His sister was dying. It was a peace- 
ful, hopeful death — the death of a Christian — of one 
wdio in her young life had never by word or deed in- 
jured man or woman. Many weeks elapsed before her 
imprisoned brother heard of her death, and when 
the intelligence at length reached him, he was over- 
whelmed with grief at her loss. 

Upon the morning following the day of his capture, 
in that dense darkness that precedes the dawn, the 
prisoners started on their tramp toward CulpepjX'r, 
and as the day broke, and the sun mounted above the 
eastern hills, their march, which extended to full 
thirty miles, became a weary and exhausting journey. 
Themselves on foot, and compelled to keep up with 
the pace of mounted men, it was a tiresome task ; but 
to do so under the burning rays of a Southern sun 
was nearly impossible. To make matters worse, in the 
present case, the Confederates having sustained a 
defeat at Bristoe and Ra})pahannock Station, the 
guard was not in the most amiable humor; in addition 
to which they were compelled to use haste in order to 
avoid caj)ture by the victorious Federals. Glazier 
gave no thought to his ])rfsent discomfort, and to use 
his own words, '' felt relieved when he heard of the 
successes of his comrades." Still the annoyance of this 
compulsory tramp was felt keenly. The prisoners 
" being encumbered with heavy high-heeled cavalry 
boots,'' and their feet having become tender from con- 



AN EXHAUSTING JOURNEY. 165 

tact with the mud and water through which they 
marched, soon became a mass of blisters, and their 
sufferings frcrm this cause alone were intense. Six of 
the poor fellows succumbed, unable to proceed. After 
a journey attended with much mental depression, and 
bodily agony, the former increased by the barbarous 
contumely flung at them by men who emerged from 
roadside inns, to stare at them as they passed, the 
prisoners, including the subject of our story, entered 
Richmond, and were at once introduced to the amen- 
ities of ^'Libby Prison.'* 



CHAPTER XYI. 

LIBBY PRISON. 

"All ye who enter here abandon hope." — Auld lang syne. — Major 
Turner. — Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. — Stoicism. — 
Glazier enters the prison-hospital. — A charnel-house. — Rel)el 
surgeons. — Prison correspondence. — Specimen of a regulation 
letter. — The tailor's joke. — A Roland for an Oliver. — News of 
death. — Schemes for escape. — The freemasonry of misfortune. — 
Plot and counter-plot. — The pursuit of pleasure under difficulties. 

IT does not come ^vithin the scope of the present 
work to enter into a detailed description of the 
sufferings of the Union prisoners in tliis phice of 
durance : those who have a taste for such gloomy 
themes may gratify it by reading tiie first work l)y our 
young soldier-author, entitled ''The Capture, Prison- 
Pen and Escape," in which the horrors of that house 
of misery are eloquently described. We may, how- 
ever, say this much, that if the testimony of eye-wit- 
nesses is to be credited, it was a fearfid place, and one 
over whose portals the words of Dante might have 
been appropriately inscribed, ''All ye who enter here 
abandon hope." 

Of some thousand Northern officers confined here, 
Glazier, of course, met several from his own corps, who 
had been j)reviously captured. He at first felt his 
condition very acutely. His roving life amid the 
magnificent scenery of Virginia, Maryland and Pcnn- 
(166) 



MAJOR TURNER. 167 

sylvan ia was now exchanged for the gloomy and 
monotonous routine of a prison ; but he writes under 
date of October twenty-eighth, in a more reconciled 
and hopeful strain ^' I am gradually,'^ he says, ^* be- 
coming accustomed to this dungeon life, and I pre- 
sume I shall fall into the habit of enjoying myself at 
times. ^ How use doth breed a habit in a man/ 
Indeed he can accommodate himself to almost any 
clime or any circumstance of life, a gift of adaptation 
no other living thing possesses in any such degree." 
Of one man, in the midst of all his philosophy, 
our hero speaks very bitterly. We allude to Major 
Turner, military warden of the prison. He de- 
scribes him as possessed of a vindictive, depraved, 
and fiendish nature, and moralizes over the man and 
his career in this wise: 

"There is nothing more terrible than a human soul 
grown powerful in sin, and left to the horrible machi- 
nations of the evil one, and its own evil promptings. 
Demons developed from germs that might have pro- 
duced seraphs, become rank growths, drinking in the 
healthful stimulants of life and reproducing them in 
hideous forms of vice and crime. 

" ' Souls made of fire, and children of the sun, 
AVith whom revenge is virtue.' 

''Thus we see a soul coming pure and plastic from its 
Maker's hand, yet afterward standing before the world, 
stained and hardened." 

Slowly and wearily the days and weeks passed on in 
*' Libby," leaving its drear monotony unbroken, ex- 
cept when the rumor of a prospect of being exchanged 
came to flush the faces of the captives with a hope 
destined not to be fulfilled while Willard Glazier wa^ 
13 



168 SWORD AND PEN. 

in Richmond. The result was that he at length 
abandoned all hope of being exchanged, and for a 
time tried hard to cultivate and "grow into the luxury 
of indifference." His experience told him that "how- 
ever reprehensible" it might be in ordinary life, 
" stoicism, under the circumstances in which he then 
found himself, was an actual necessity." His mind 
ap})ears at this time to have sustained him under many 
extreme bodily privations. But despite all his philos- 
ophy and cultivated resignation of spirit, despite the 
mental resources which he fortunately possessed in no 
small degree, and which enabled him to occupy his 
time profitably, while others were pacing up and 
down the room like caged beasts feeding upon their 
own hearts, his bodily health was materially im^ 
paired. The first winter month, with its frosty 
atmosphere, and fierce northern blasts, instead of 
bringing invigoration to his wasted frame, left him 
more debilitated, and upon the eighth of December he 
succumbed to a disease which had been encroaching 
upon him for some time, and requested to be sent to 
the hospital. His sensations were far from pleasant 
when, for the first time in his life, he found himself 
seriously ill among enemies, and In that most dismal 
of all disn)al places, a Prison Infirmary. "Once in 
the hospital," he writes, " I found myself soon subjected 
to its peculiar influences. There was the ominous 
stillness, broken only by the choking cough, or labored 
groan ; the chilling dread, as though one were in the 
immediate presence of death, and under the ban of 
silence; and the anxious yearning — the almost frantic 
yearning one feels in the contemplation of suffering 
which he is powerless to alleviate. And worse than 



HUMANE SURGEONS. 169 

all, at last came the hardened feeling which a familiar- 
ity with such scenes produces. This is nothing but an 
immense charnel-house. We are constantly in the 
midst of the dead and dying. Nearly every day some 
of our comrades, and on some days several of them, 
are borne away coffinless and unshrouded to their 
unmarked graves. Nor flower, nor cross, nor hallowed 
token, gives grace to the dead, or beauty to the grave. • I 
am well aware that in time of war, on the field of 
carnage, in camp, where the pestilential fever rages, 
or in the crowded prisons of the enemy, human life 
is but little valued. Yet there are moments amidst 
all these scenes, when the importance of life and the 
terrors of death, seem to force themselves upon the 
mind of every man, with a power which cannot be 
resisted.^' 

It is pleasant to find that here, as generally in the 
world, with members of the learned professions, the 
surgeons were humane and kind ; and remonstrated 
with the authorities whenever remonstrance on behalf 
of the poor sufferers was needed. Of course they 
could not " minister to a mind diseased, pluck from the 
memory a rooted sorrow," or, 

*' With some sweet oblivious antidote, cleanse 
The choked bosom of that perilous stuff 
That weighs upon the heart ; " 

but gracious words and sympathizing looks, and the 
knowledge that he was once more in the hands of 
gentlemeUy were a source of great comfort to the patient, 
after having been brought into daily and hourly con- 
tact with the familiars of Major Turner. Another 
gratifying circumstance was, that the Federal surgeons 
held as prisoners were permitted to attend upon their 



170 SWORD AND PEN. 

sick compatriots when they expressed a wish to do so, 
and that, of coarse, was very frequently. Even an 
hospital has its little events, which although they ap- 
pear very trifling in the retrospect, are of considerable 
importance at the time of their occurrence. Here 
these little episodes were not infrequent. At one time 
it was the destruction of a box of dainties sent by the 
Federal Sanitary Commission for the prisoners ; at 
another, it was the excitement incident to an exchange 
of the surgeons held in captivity ; and again, it was 
the surreptitious acquisition by some of the patients of 
a daily newspaper, and the guarded dissemination of 
such items as it might contain among his fellow- 
sufferers; but greatest of all in importance was the 
receipt of a letter from home. Even when surrounded 
by all the incidents of home life, the postman is 
ever a welcome visitor ; but in the midst of such a 
dreary captivity as these men were undergoing, a letter 
from home was like a message from heaven. 

Their correspondence had, however, its sad as well 
as its cheerful aspect. The prisoners were restricted 
in writing their letters to six lines, by an arbitrary 
order from Major Turner, and much ingenuity was 
exercised in the effort to crowd into these six lines 
the thousand and one messages which many of the 
writers desired to send to mothers, wives, sisters and 
sweethearts. Here is a genuine specimen of a " regu- 
lation'^ letter from a fond husband to the wife of his 
bosom : 

My Dear Wife: Yours received — no hope of exchange — send 
£orn-starch — want socks — no money — rheumatism in left slioulder 
--pickles very good — send sausages — God bless you — Kiss the baby 
■ — Hail Columbia I Your devoted husband, 

A. D. S. 



PRISON CORRESPONDENCE. 171 

But the " rule of six " was successfully evaded for 
a considerable time, by the manufacture and use of 
invisible ink. The trick was however at last dis- 
covered, and the way in which Glazier tells the story 
is so amusing, that we are tempted to give it in his 
own words: 

*' A certain captain writing to a fair and undoubtedly 
dear friend, could not brook the idea of being limited 
to six lines, when he had so much to communicate; so 
resorting to the use of invisible ink, he comfortably 
filled the sheet with ^soft and winning words,' and 
then fearing lest his inamorata w^ould not discover the 
secret he added this postscript: 

"'P. S. — Now, my dear, read this over, and then 
bake it in the oven and read it again.' 

"This was too much. The rebels thinking if the 
letter would improve by baking it might be well to 
improve it at once, accordingly held it over the fire. 
This brought to light four closely written pages of the 
tenderest and most heart-rending sentiment." 

Ever after all letters sent out by the prisoners were 
carefully inspected and subjected to the "ordeal by 
fire,'' so that, to use the expressive language of an old 
soldier, "that game was played." 

Among Glazier's fellow-prisoners at this time was a 
certain Major Halsted. He was one of those social 
anomalies that are not infrequently met with in this 
country, a man of obscure origin, a member of a very 
humble calling, prior to entering the army, and yet pos- 
sessing the personal appearance and manners of a man 
of distinction. He really belonged to that terribly 
maligned craft of whose followers it is popularly said, 
" It takes nine to make a man," — he was a tailor. 



172 SWORD AND PEN. 

Upon this fact some of the little wits of the prison, 
forgetting that one of the bravest of Napoleon's gen- 
erals, and one of the most intrepid of America's sons, 
had both followed the same occupation, were in the 
habit of jokingly asking him to repair their old and 
dilapidated clothes. 

When this jest was first indulged in, those who knew 
the undaunted spirit and somewhat irascible temper of 
the major, expected to hear him blaze out upon the 
perpetrator of the mauvaise plaisantrlcy or possibly 
knock him down. To their surprise, however, he did 
neither. For a single moment a gleam of passionate 
wrath shot up in his eyes, but it was instantly sup- 
pressed, and he joined in the laugh against himself. 
Seeing, however, that the victim of the joke did not 
appear at all disturbed or hurt, other, better-natured 
fellows followed in the wake, and the jest of asking 
the major to patch a pair of breeches or mend a coat, 
became somewhat threadbare by repetition. 

It happened, however, that one day the rebel sur- 
geon accidentally tore his coat across the breast, and 
turning to Major H. said, he would give him a bottle 
of wine if he would repair it. "Yes, sir," said the 
major, "if you will furnish me with a needle, thread, 
and a few other indispensables, I will take the whole 
suit and make it look very different." He added, " the 
fact is, I would rather do anything than rust in idle- 
ness in this d — d prison." Finding that he spoke 
seriously, and as if it were an ordinary business, the 
Confederate sawbones, who had a liVely appreciation of 
Yankee handicraft, accepted the proposition, and all 



THE TAILOR'S JOKE, I73 

next day the major was bard at work clipping and 
scouring and pressing the surgeon's uniform, every 
now and then the owner thereof passing by and smiling 
approval; and it was remarked that his face wore that 
complacent expression common to all good men when 
they have furnished employment for idle hands — and 
it is not going to cost them anything. 

The same evening, however, when the work, so 
neatly done, was finished, the major very quietly 
slipped it upon his own dignified person, and taking 
with him a fellow-prisoner as "hospital steward,^' 
coolly walked past the guard, remarking, to the 
great consternation of that personage, " My friend, 
there are unmistakable indications of cerebrospinal 
meningitis in your eyes. Come over to the hospital 
as soon as you are relieved, and I will see what can be 
done for you," walked out into the street, and neither 
he nor the '^hospital steward" was heard of again 
until they reached the Federal lines. 

The devices resorted to, to effect an escape, were as 
ingenious as they were numerous, and for a short time 
the most popular and successful ruse was for the pris- 
oners to get into the hospital, simulate death, and, 
while left unguarded in the dead-house, to escape. 
The diflPerence, however, between the tally of the deaths 
and the burials ultimately attracted the attention of 
the authorities, and that was stopped. 

It will be remembered that while young Glazier was 
fighting his last fight prior to his capture upon the 
nineteenth of October, the family at home were gath- 
ered around his sister's dying bed, when her gentle 
spirit winged its flight to Heaven. From that day 
until the twenty-ninth of November, he had received 



174 SWORD AND PEN. 

no news of his family, and consequently, up to that 
time, was ignorant of her decease. It had been his 
habit, during the weary hours of his prison life, to 
overcome the dangerous disposition that is common to 
all human beings when in trouble — to brood over their 
misfortunes by fixing their thoughts upon the loved 
ones at home. His imagination constantly conjured 
up before his mind's eye pictures of his parents, 
his sisters and brothers, and placed them amid the 
rustic surroundings of his boyhood's home. Even 
while in the hospital, and tossing with fever upon his 
bed, the visions which haunted him were not visions 
of red-handed war, but of quiet country life, where his 
kindred filled their several spheres of duty. He had 
never thought of them, except collectively. Although 
he had, from time to time, felt apprehensive that 
*'Elvi" was somewhat delicate, he never had the 
slightest fear that her life was thereby endangered. 
Hence, when the sad news arrived, it came as a ter- 
rible surprise. His sisters had been the objects of his 
peculiar care. The relation he had borne to them, 
young as he was, was that of a father, as well as bro- 
ther. He never wearied of inventing plans for their 
intellectual improvement. He made it his peculiar 
care that they should be thoroughly educated, and that, 
while intellectually robust, none of the soft down and 
bloom of true womanhood should be brushed away in 
the process. They were his memory's "good angels" 
even in sleep ; for what must have been his dreams in 
the midst of such surroundings, if he had not had 
them to think of! 

The shock on thus learning of his sister's death was 
a very great one to young Glazier, and his reflections 



PLANS FOR ESCAPE. 175 

for a time were bitter. He alludes to the subject him- 
self in this way : " In the very midst of death I am 
permitted to drag out a weary life, while dear ones in 
a land of health, freedom and plenty are struck down 
by the fatal shaft. Her death occurred on the nine- 
teenth of October, the very day of my capture. I was 
thrust into prison, and doubly bound to the groveling 
discomforts of earth, while she was released from the 
prison-Rouse of clay, and received, I trust, into the 
joyous freedom of Heaven. Our lives are all in 
the hands of Him who doeth all things well. He 
appoints us a period of existence, and appoints a 
moment to depart. All other influences are subordi- 
nate to His will. 'What can preserve our lives, and 
what destroy ! ' " 

From the moment he realized that he was in the 
hands of the enemy, after the battle of New Balti- 
more, Glazier had made up his mind to exercise sleep- 
less vigilance in seeking for opportunities of escape. 
He pondered over the matter until he became a com- 
plete enthusiast in his efforts to master the minute 
details of the construction and topography of the place 
of his confinement, and, by the exercise of that natural 
freemasonry which enables kindred spirits to recognize 
each other, soon effected an understanding upon the 
subject with certain of the more daring of his compan- 
ions in misfortune. One of these gentlemen was a 
Lieutenant Tresouthick, an officer of the Eighteenth 
Pennsylvania Cavalry. In order to comprehend the 
plan which they finally determined to carry out, it will 
be necessary to premise that Libby Prison was a three- 
story structure, built over very ample cellarage; that 
the stories were each divided into three compartments, 



176 SWORD AND PEN. 

as was the cellar; and tliat these spaces were all of 
equal size in length and breadtli. For the purpose of 
conveying a clear conception of tlie locus in quo of the 
proposed effort, the reader should also be informed that 
the hospital occupied the first floor; that Lieutenant 
Tresouthick was one of the occupants of the room im- 
mediately above it; and that there were sinks built 
against the exterior wall of the same height as each 
story, and running the entire length of the bbilding. 
The lieutenant's plan was, that "he should feign sick- 
ness and get into the hospital,'' says our hero, in 
describing the scheme; "and that I, in the mean- 
while, should, with a saw-backed knife, cut a board 
out of the sink large enough to let us through." This 
looked feasible enough, and the two conspirators were 
beginning to felicitate themselves upon their approach- 
ing freedom, when they discovered that any such 
opening as they proposed, would let them out "directly 
opposite the guard," so that plan had to be dropped. 
Glazier then proposed a plan of operations, promising 
better and safer results. It was, that Tresouthick 
should still carry out his original idea of a feigned 
sickness and consequent admission to the hospital ; 
that he (Glazier) should procure a piece of rope, eight 
or ten feet long, and then, "some dark, rainy night," 
the pair should "steal down into the basement" — 
the outer doors of which w^ere "not locked until ten 
o'clock" — and await their opportunity. That, when 
they once reached the exterior of the building, and the 
sentry's back was turned, they should rush past him 
on either side, and, with the rope, trip him up, in the 
hope of being beyond the reach of his musket before 
he could fire. This was approved by the lieutenant. 



PLEASURE UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 177 

and they made up their minds to try it. Of course, it 
was necessary that Lieutenant Tresouthick's ilhiess 
sliould come on very gradually, and progress naturally 
from bad to worse, until he became a fit subject for 
the hospital, so that some time was occupied in pre- 
liminary opm^ations before any steps coi^ld be taken 
for the execution of their plan. 

Meanwhile, through the kindness of one of the 
surgeons, young Glazier was furnished with some 
reading matter, a very great luxury to a man in his 
situation and of his tastes. In his more serious hours 
he re-read the Bible, and committed to memory daily 
a portion of "Saint Matthew's Gospel ;" and for relaxa- 
tion read " Napoleon and his Marshals.'' This with 
an occasional game at chess, checkers, or dominos, 
gaDies in which the invalids were permitted to indulge, 
made the hours pass much more pleasantly than those 
spent in the convalescent department. It is true their 
chess-board was made with chalk upon the floor, the 
" men " being pieces wrought out of bone saved from 
their soup, and the "checkers" old buttons ripped 
from their scanty wardrobe. But these rude imple- 
ments afforded as much real sport as if they had been 
constructed of ivory or gold. The scene must at all 
times have been grimly grotesque in this place, for all 
the trades and professions had their representatives 
there, and the lawyers held mock courts, politicians 
formed caucuses, gamblers started a square game of 
faro, and even some ministers of the gospel gathered 
together a few each day, who listened to words of hope 
and comfort from their lips. 

On the eighth of December Glazier made this note 
in his' diary ; "Getting into the hospital is no easy 



178 SWORD AND PEN. 

matter, but Tresouthick is becoming more and more 
sick, and has good hopes." But 

" The best o' plans o' mice and men 
Gang aft aglee; " 

and all hope of escape for our two worthies was inter- 
rupted by the inconvenient fact that a couple of their 
comrades anticipated them in point of time, and by so 
doing aroused the guards to such a state of vigilance, 
that our over-sanguine boys saw there was no chance 
for them. Consequently Lieutenant TresoiHhick's ill- 
ness vanished as it had come, and he W'^'^ «;oon pro- 
nounced convalescent. 



CHAPTER XVIT. 

PRISON LIFE. 

Mourrriil news.— How a brave man dies.— New Year's Day.-- 
Johy under unfavorable circumstances.— Major Turner pays his 
respects.— Punishment for singing " villainous Yankee songs.''— 
Confederate General John Morgan.— Plans for escape.— Digging 
their way to freedom.— "Post No. 1, All's well."— Yankee 
ingenuity.— The tunnel ready.— Muscle the trump card.— No 
respect to rank.— Sauve qui pent!— A strategic movement.— 
"Guards! guards! "—Absentees from muster.— Disappointed 
hopes.— Savage treatment of prisoners.— Was the prison mined ? 

THE RichQiond papers occasionally found their way 
into the hands of the prisoners, and the following 
mournful item of news is transcribed from one of them. 
The writer of the ensuing letter was a man about 
thirty years of age, who was accused by the rebel 
authorities of having acted as a spy on behalf of the 
Union government. A gloom hung over the prison 
for some days after the reading of the article : 

Castle Thunder, Richmond, Virginia. 
Dear Father:- By permission and through the courtesy of 
Captain Alexander, I am enabled to write you a few lines. You, 
who before this have heard from me in regard to my situation here, 
can, I trust, bear it, when I tell you that my days on earth are soon 
ended. 

Last Saturday I was court-martialed, and this evening, a short 
* time since, I received notice of my sentence by Captain Alexander, 

(179) 



180 SWORD AND PEX. 

who has since shown me every kindness consistent with his 
duty. 

Writing to my dear parents, I feel there can be no greater 
comfort after such tidings, than to tell you that I trust, by tlie 
mercy of our Heavenly Father, to die the death of a Christian. 

For more than a year, since the commencement of my confine- 
ment, I have been trying to serve him in my own feeble way, and 
I do not fear to go to Him. 

I would have loved to see you all again ; God saw best not ; 
why should we mourn? Comfort your hearts, my dear parents, by 
thoughts of God's mercy unto your son, and bow with reverence 
beneath the hand of Him who "doetU all things well." 

* * ^' I sent a ring to my wife by a clergyman, Monday 
iast; I also sent a telegram to yourself, which will arrive too late, 
as the time of my execution is set for the day after to-morrow. 

Dear parents : there are but few more moments left me ; I will 
try to think often of you ; God bless and comfort you ; remember 
me kindly and respectfully to all my dear friends and relatives. 
Tell Kitty I hope to meet her again. Take cafe of Freddy for me ; 
put him often in remembrance of me. 

Dear mother, good-bye. God comfort you, my mother, and 
bless you with the love of happy children. Farewell, my father ; 
we meet again by God's mercy. 

Spencer Kellogg. 

The following account of the execution is from a 
Richmond paper : 

"At eleven o'clock yesterday forenoon, a detail of 
one hundred men from the City Battalion, marched 
from Castle Thunder with Spencer Kellogg, the 
recently condemned spy, in custody. 

"The cavalcade reached the scene of execution 
about half-past twelve o'clock, where, as usual, a vast 
concourse of people, of both sexes and all ages, were 
congregated. After a few moments spent in prelimi- 
nary arrangements, the prisoner was escorted, under 
guard, to the gallows. While seated in the hack 
awaiting the perfection of the arrangements for his^ 



HOW A BRAVE MAN DIES. 181 

execution, lie conversed freely with the utmost no?i- 
chalance with Dr. Burrows, frequently smiling at 
some remark made either by himself or the minister. 

"Arriving under the gallows, the charges preferred 
as'ainst the accused and the sentence of the court- 
martial were read. A short but impressive prayer was 
then offered by the minister, at the conclusion of which 
the condemned man, unaccompanied, mounted the 
scaflPold. 

"In a few moments Detective Capehart followed, 
and commenced to adjust the rope over fche neck of the 
condemned, in which he assisted, all the while talking 
with the officer. On taking off his hat, to admit the 
noose over his head, he threw it one side, and falling 
off the scaffold, it. struck a gentleman beneath, when 
the prisoner turned quickly, and bowing, said : ' Excuse 
me, sir!' 

"A negro next came on the scaffold with a ladder, 
and proceeded to fasten the rope to the upper beam, the 
prisoner meanwhile regarding him with the greatest 
composure. The rope being fastened, the negro was 
in the act of coming down, when the prisoner, looking 
up at the rope, remarked : ^ This will not break my 
neck ! It is not more than a foot fall ! Doctor, I 
wish you would come up and arrange this thing!' 
The rope was then arranged to his satisfaction, and the 
cloth cap placed over his head. 

"The condemned man then bowed his head, and 
engaged a few seconds in prayer, at the conclusion 
of whicli he raised himself, and standing perfectly 
erect, pronounced in a clear voice: 'All ready!' 

"The drop fell, and the condemned man was 
launched into eternity ! " 



182 SWORD AND PEN. 

Kellogg is said by his captors to have died with the 
conviction tliat he had furnished more valuable infor- 
mation, in the character of a spy, to the Federal gov- 
ernment than any other ten men in the service. Beit 
this has been denied by his friends at the North, who 
assert that he was innocent of the charge. 

With baseless rumors of a soon-to-be-effected cartel 
of exchange; the drawing of lots for the selection of 
hostages, upon whom the Confederacy proposed to 
retaliate for the punishment inflicted upon three Con- 
federates by the Federal authorities who had sentenced 
them to imprisonment in the Illinois State Prison ; 
listening to yarns spun by real or pretended veterans ; 
playing games of chance; holding spirited debates; 
reading letters from home; occasionally poring over the 
newspaper procured by stealth; or meditating plans of 
escape — the balance of the year 1863 wore on to its 
close, and still Willard Glazier was a prisoner of war, 
with no prospect whatever of a speedy release. Then 
came New- Year's Day, January first, 1864, and some 
little attempt was made to get up a New- Year's 
dinner — though no extra rations had been issued. 
They did their best, however, like Mark Tapley, to be 
"jolly under unfavorable circumstances." 

Nothing occurred out of the usual routine until the 
twenty- fourth of January, when, as the prisoners, includ- 
ing Glazier, were singing " The Star-Spangled Banner,'^ 
*^ Rally Round the Flag, Boys," etc., the door leading 
into the street was suddenly flung open, and a squad 
of armed men filed in. Turner was at their head, and 
quickly crossing the room and placing himself at the 
door leading up-stairs, to prevent any of the prisoners 
from making their escape, began: "Now you d — d 



BRUTALITY OF MAJOR TURNER. 183 

boisterous scoundrels, I'll teach you to begin your 
d — d howling in this building again. I want you to 
understand that you must not drive people crazy out in 
the streets with your villainous Yankee songs." He 
then turned to his men and ordered thera to " Take 
their stations around the d — d rascals, and shoot the 
first man that dared to stir out of his tracks." Having 
completed which arrangement, he added to his helpless 
victims: "Now, d — n you, stay here until twelve 
o'clock to-night, and make a bit of noise or move from 
your place, if you dare." And he kept them there 
until the appointed hour, standing and in silence. "The 
fires went out early in the evening, and the cold 
became intense. Some managed to get blankets from 
their friends," in the apartment above, "but the 
guards soon put a stop to that. One man called down 
to a friend through a knot-hole in the floor, asking him 
if he wanted a blanket. The guard heard him, cocked 
his gun, and aimed at the hole; but a call from below 
gave the man warning and he fled." And all this for 
singing a song written by a Southerner, in praise of the 
flag under whose aegis Major Turner was nurtured and 
received his military education ! It is quite possible 
that a song identified with the cause of their supposed 
enemy might have produced a commotion among the 
ignorant rabble in the street, and hence it is ])erhaps 
unfair to blame the commander of the prison for pro- 
hibiting the loud singing, which partook somewhat of 
the nature of defiance ; but he could certainly have 
attained his object as effectually in a manner becoming 
an officer and a gentleman. Even the victims of the 
First French Revolution were permitted to express in 
song through the bars of the Temple sentiments of 
14 



184 SWORD AND J'Ky. 

utter scorn for their enemies, and when the Jacobins in 
their turn marched to the guillotine they did so, sing- 
ing the '' Marseillaise." 

A great sensation was created among the prisoners on 
the twenty-fifth of the month on account of a visit made 
to "Libby" by the famous raider, General John Mor- 
gan, whom Glazier described iis a " large, fine-looking 
officer, wearing a full beard and a rebel uniform, 
trimmed with the usual amount of gold braid;" but 
something far more interesting than the visit of any 
man, however famous, began to absorb the attention 
of our imprisoned hero at this time. He had never 
ceased to rack his brain with schemes looking to his 
escape. A life of captivity was indescribably weari- 
some to him. He not only taxed his own ingenuity 
in the effort to discover some feasible plan, but eagerly 
entered into the schemes of others. The result, however, 
so far as he was individually concerned, was by no 
means in accordance with his hopes; but, as he has 
given the details in his "Capture, Prison-Pen, and 
Escape," we cannot do better (even at the risk of quot- 
ing from that work more freely than we had intended) 
than to let our readers have it in his own words, thus : 

" Early in the winter, Colonel Thomas E. Kose, of 
the Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, con- 
ceived a plan of escape, and organized a secret com- 
pany of twenty -seven, who were to dig their way to 
freedom. 

"Colonel Rose was well calculated to superintend 
this work, for he had served in the Mexican War, was 
taken prisoner by the Mexicans, and after a short 
confinement, escaped by tunneling from the prison a 
sufficient distance to be clear of the guards. He had 



TUNN[^JLING, 135 

served his apprenticeship and was now prepared to 
manage and direct. After thomugh organization of 
our company, with secresy well enjoined, we adopted 
the following plan of operations : 

^*'In the basement of the building just below our 
cook-roomj was a small unoccupied cellar, which had 
been closed since our arrival, and was never entered. 
From this room or cellar arose a large chimney, which 
passed through the cook-room, and so to the top of the 
building. Our first work was to make a hole in the 
chimney from the kitchen, which opening we could 
easily conceal by means of some slop-barrels. These 
barrels we managed to empty ourselves so that all 
danger of detection from this point was carefully 
avoided. A short ladder which our Confederate jailers 
had brought into the rooms for the purpose of raising 
their flag on the building, was used to make our 
descent into the dark room belov/. Inquiry was 
made for the ladder, but as no one seemed to know 
anything about it, it was inferred that it had been con- 
verted into fuel. At the foot of the ladder another 
opening was made through the chimney wall leading 
into the underground basement room. By removing a 
few stones from the wall of this place, we were in a 
situation to commence the work of tunneling. The 
only implements in our possession were an old trowel 
and the half of a canteen. The arduous labor was com- 
menced with only the fragment of a canteen, but with 
this the progress was so slow that even the most 
patient were disheartened. Fortunately for us a mason 
came in to repair the prison walls, and going to dinner 
before he had finished his work, left his trowel, v/hich 
in his absence most mysteriously disappeared. To him 



186 SWORD AND PEy. 

it may have been of little acconnt, to ns it was a godsend. 
With the aid of this implement ^VG were enabled to 
-make more rapid jirogress ; were greatly encouraged, 
and worked night and day with ceaseless energy. Two 
of our number were kept in the tunnel almost con- 
stantly. One, by a vigorous use of the trowel and 
canteen, would advance slowly, ])lacing the loosened 
earth in an old blanket, which the other would convey 
out of the tunnel into a corner of the room, from 
whence it started. Our course was due east, under the 
street, where constantly paced the sentinels, who at 
every hour of the night were wont to cry : ^ Post No. 1 ; 
all's well!'— * Post No. 2; all's well!' etc. Little did 
they dream that Yankee ingenuity and perseverance 
were perforating the solid earth under their feet, and 
opening a path to freedom. 

"As we progressed in our work we experienced great 
difficulty from the want of pure air to breathe, and to 
sustain our candles, which refused to burn. Conse- 
quently, one of our party was compelled to stand at 
the opening, fanning pure air into the tunnel with his 
hat. Our atmospheric difficulties were the more in- 
creased by the small size of the hole, which was a little 
less than two feet in diameter, quite irregular in con- 
sequence of large stones, and descended in a line below 
the horizontal. This severe labor was carried on 
without nuch interruption for more than three weeks, 
when, at last, the plan came near being a failure on 
account of a sad mistake in our measurement. Our 
intention was to reach the yard of an old shed, or 
warehouse, in which were then stored the boxes sent us 
by the Christian and Sanitary Commissions, and by 
our friends at the North. 



THE GREAT YANKEE TUNNEL. 187 

"Thinking we had reached tlie desired point, an 
opening was made to the surface, when it was found 
we were still in the street, outside the fence, and within 
a few yards of the sentries. Not discovered by this 
mishap, the hole was quickly filletJ with a pair of old 
pants and some straw, and the work of excavation 
continued to the spot intended, 

^' The selection of this point was very fortunate, as 
the guards used to skulk about this building at night 
for the purpose of plundering the boxes, and on the 
night of the escape, as it happened, they saw every 
man that came out ; but, supposing them to be friends, 
only whispered to each other, that ^the boys were going 
through the Yankee boxes mighty fast/ 

"These whisperings," adds Captain Glazier, " were 
distinctly heard l)y some of our men. The tunnel was 
about sixty-five feet in length, and was ready for use 
February ninth, 1864. 

"The company of diggers had arranged that they 
should make their egress first, and inform tlie others 
just as they were going out. But each man had a 
particular friend whom he wished to notify, and, as 
we were seen packing our clothing, it soon became 
suspected among our fellow-prisoners that something 
unusual was in the wind. Curiosity, once on the alert, 
soon discovered the secret, and then all were jubilant 
with the hope of escape, and forthwith commenced 
packing their poor wardrobes. But egress was so slow 
that it soon became evident to the cool calculator that, 
at best, but a comparatively small proportion of our 
number would be fortunate enough to ts.ke their 
departure from^Libby' b:'for^ daylight would forbid 
any further efforts in that direction. 



188 SWORD AND PEN 

" In order to get down ihe chimney, as wt^II as along 
the tnnnel, it was necessary to do so in puris nafurali- 
hus, wrap our clothing in a bundle, and push it on 
before us. As soon as it was seen that only a few 
could possibly get out, many, and in fact most, became 
seltisi), and thought only of attaining their own liberty. 
All rushed for the mouth of the tunnel, each man 
seemingly determined to be first out. By this move- 
ment, the organization formed by the pioneers or 
working party was broken up, and the workmen, who 
were to have had the first opportunity to escape, were 
not more favorably situated than those who had never 
borne a hand in the digging. At the entrance to the 
tunnel were hundreds eagerly awaiting their turn. 

"Through the intense anxiety and excitement that 
arose, there was a rush and a crowd, each one being 
eager to improve the op})ortunity. Muscle was the 
trump card, and won. The weak had to step aside, or 
rather they were pushed aside without apology. No 
respect was paid to rank or name. A long-armed 
second lieutenant had no scruple in taking hold of a 
pair of shoulders that wore eagles, and pushing them 
out of the way. It was sauve qui peut, ami no stand- 
ing aside for betters — no deference to age, and gray 
hairs ceased to be honored. Mere i)hysical force was 
the test of championship. Those poor weak ones who 
gravitated to the outskirts of such an eager crowding 
mass — -just as the light kernels will find their way to 
the top of a shaken measure of wheat — doubtless 
thought, as they felt themselves crowded further and 
further from the door of egress : 

" 'Oh, it is excellent 
To have a giant's strength, but 'tis tyrannous 
To use it like a jriant ! ' 



GUARDS! GUARDS! ]89 

"I made several attempts/' Glazier continues, "to 
assert what I considered my rights, but as I had not, 
at that time, much muscle to back my claims, they 
were not recognized, and thus I spent the whole night 
in a bootless struggle for freedom. 

" In digging tlie tunnel we had encountered a large 
root which we could not well remove, and the ])assage 
at this point was very narrow. Lieutenant Wallace 
F. Randolph, Fifth United States Artillery, a corpu- 
lent fellow, was caught fast by the root. There was a 
man before him, and another behind, which almost 
entirely excluded atmospheric circulation, and before 
they could pull him out of his unfortunate predicament, 
Randolj)h was almost dead. He was, however, suc- 
cessful at last. This blockade greatly retarded the 
line of march, and made the crowd within still more 
desperate. 

"Some of the outsiders in the struggle, who despaired 
of accomplishing anything by strength, had recourse 
to a stratagem. There had been considerable noise 
during the struggle for position, and the guards were 
expected to make their appearance at any moment. 
The outsiders, taking advantage of this a})prehension, 
went to the farther end of the cook-room, and, in the dark- 
ness, made a racket with pots and kettles, which sounded 
very much like the clashing of fire-arms; while some 
of their number in tlie crowd sang out: 'Guards! 
guards!' In an instant every man was gone from the 
tunnel, and a frantic rush took place for the single 
stairway by about five hundred men. Such a strug- 
gling and pressing I have never elsewhere seen, or 
participated in. We neither walked up, nor ran up, 
but were literally lifted from our feet, and propelled 



190 SWORB AND PEN. 

along in a solid mass up the passage, and mad^} our 
entrance through the door at the head of the stairs as 
though shot from a cannon — most of us not stopping 
until we struck the wall on the opposite side of the 
room. While this was going on, the scamps who had 
given the false alarm were quietly passing out of the 
tunnel ! The ruse was soon discovered, however, and, 
in a few minutes, there was as great a jam at the 
entrance of the tunnel as ever. But, so eager and 
unthinking were we, that within half an hour, the 
same trick was played on us again by others and 
then followed another stampede up the stairs. It is a 
wonder this affair was not stopped by the guards, but 
they had no suspicion whatever of what was going on. 
This was probably owing to the fact that great noises in 
the cook-room were common throughout the night as 
well as day. It is however reported that one of the 
sentinels was heard to call out jocosely to a comrade on 
the next beat, ^ Hello, Billy ! there goes somebody's 
coffee-pot, sure.' 

" This struggle continued until morning, when the 
opening in the chimney was covered, and we went to 
our several quarters. Here a muster was called to dis- 
cover how many had made their escape, when it was 
found that one hundred and fifteen were missing. 
Arrangements were at once made to account for their 
absence, and certain men were designated who were to 
cross the room slyly during roll-call, and be counted 
twice. 

" For some reason the authorities were late that 
morning, and did not make their appearance until 
about ten o'clock. On the roll being called the men, 
according to arrangement, attempted to cross the room, 



RECAPTURE OF PRISONERS. 191 

but the movement was discovered, and so the count 
showed one hundred and fifteen short. The clerk 
thought he had made a mistake, and counted again, 
but with the same result. The authorities also thought 
there must be some error in the count, and joked little 
Ross, the prison clerk, who was none of the brightest, 
because he could not count a thousand Yankees ! 

" We were now marched from one room to another, 
and counted one by one, but still there were one 
hundred and fifteen short of the complement. We, 
of course, pretended to be as much surprised as the 
authorities. They next sent for Major Turner, and he 
counted us two or three times, but with an equally un- 
satisfactory result. He demanded of us where they 
had gone, and how they got out; but not a man 
knew. 

"The escape was at once made public, and the papers 
were filled with the news, and the most strenuous 
measures at once adopted to ensure the recapture of 
the runaways. The authorities were terribly exasper- 
ated, and as a first step, arrested the guards and threw 
them into Castle Thunder, concluding as a matter of 
course, that they had been bribed. This set the guards 
thinkinor, and one of them remembered he had seen an 
unusual number of men in the lot near the Yankee 
boxes. Latouche, the prison adjutant, hearing of this, 
just before nightfall discovered the locality of the 
opening. Next, they questioned the prisoners as to 
where in the building it began, but could obtain no 
satisfaction, and not until after a long search, did they 
discover the opening in the chimney.'^ 

So the "patient toil and vigil long" of poor Glazier 
went for nothing. The Confederate authorities seem to 



192 SWORD AND PEN. 

have treated the matter very good-humoredly, frankly 
expressed their surprise at the ingenuity and patienee 
of the subterranean engineers, and manfully set about 
the task of recapturing the fugitives. Forty-eight 
were brought in during the next two days, but at 
the same time it leaked out among the prisoners that 
the Unionists under General Kilpatrick were within 
the outer line of fortifications, engaging the rebels, 
as it was conjectured, with the view of rescuing the 
prisoners. The consequence was, there was much 
excitement among the latter, for the boom of cannon 
sounded distinctly in their ears, and that sound was 
accepted as the music that heralded their approaching 
freedom. 

All such hopes, however, were doomed to disap- 
pointment. The object of the expedition, which was a 
combined movement from different points by General 
Kilpatrick and Colonel Dahlgren, was defeated in con- 
sequence of the treachery of a negro guide, employed 
by the latter officer, and one of the effects of this man's 
treason was the death of that gallant young soldier. 
The only result that followed to the prisoners was that 
the rebels became more exasperated than ever, and 
unfortunately for their reputation, they seem, with 
regard to the treatment of the few prisoners that fell 
into their hands on this occasion, to have behaved 
rather like savage than civilized people. Not satisfied 
with the perpetration of acts of cruelty upon these 
particular prisoners, they (according to Ca})tain Gla- 
zier's information) undermined the prison building, 
and stored beneath the foundation a sufficient quantity 
of powder to blow it into fragments. This proceeding 
he says they called, with more force than elegance, 




THE HOLE IN THE FLOOR. 



PREPARING YANKEES FOR HEAVEN. 193 

" preparing the Yankees for hell ; " and Major Turner 
very grimly informed them that if any further attempt 
at escape were made, or efforts for their rescue, the 
prison would be blown to atoms ! It is not surprising 
that at such a time, and under the circumstances, the 
prisoners looked upon this threat as meant in sober 
reality; but in all probability (or at least let us hope), 
it was used simply as a means of discouraging attempts 
upon the part of the incarcerated men, to regain their 
liberty by their own efforts or that of their friends. 

The raiders captured in the expedition under Kil- 
patrick and Dahlgren bad been thrust into a cell 
directly beneath the room in which Glazier was con- 
fined. Contrivances were made to open communica- 
tion with them for the purpose, if possible, of allevia- 
ting their sufferings, as it was well known that food 
was issued to them in very niggardly quantities, and 
every indignity the rebels could devise inflicted upon 
them. After much effort, by the aid of a knife, a hole 
was cut in the floor, sufficiently large to pass a man's 
hand, and through this ho'e Glazier, for several weeks, 
was instrumental in furnishing the captives with a 
share of his own and his companions' rations, which 
were eagerly grasped and devoureil by the starving 
men. No single act of our hero's life afforded him 
more real happiness than the service he was thus ena- 
bled to render the brave men who had lost their liberty 
in the noble effort to capture the prison and release its 
inmates. 



CHAPTER XVIIL 

DANVILLE. — MACON. — SAVANNAH. 

Belle Boyd, the Confederate spy. — National characteristics. — Colonel 
Mosby. — Richmond to Danville. — Sleeping spoon-fashion. — Gla- 
zier's "corrective point " suffers. — Saltatory entrance to a rail- 
road car. — Colonel Joselyn. — Sympathy of North Carolinians. — 
Ingenious efforts to escape. — Augusta. — Macon. — Turner again ! — 
"Carelessness" with firearms. — Tunneling. — Religious revival. — 
Order from Confederate War Department. — Murder ! — Fourth of 
July. — Macon to Savannah. — Camp Davidson. — More tunneling. 

riHHE celebrated Confederate spy, Belle Boyd, paid a 
JL visit to " Libby " in the latter part of March, and 
her presence created much comment ajnong the 
prisoners. She was not that ideal of grace and gentle- 
ness which 

"Untutored youth, 
Unlearned in the world's false subtleties," 

enthrones within the temple of his heart, but was, not- 
withstanding, a remarkable woman. With much of 
the enthusiasm that characterized "Za Pucelle,^^ she 
appears to have combined a considerable allowance of 
shrewdness, or common sense; a mixture of qualities, 
by the way, of more common occurrence than is gener- 
ally supposed, among the northern and southern 
people of our continent. There is little difference 
between the " peartness " of the one, and the ^'smart- 
ness " of the other ; or the '* high tone " of the South, 
and the nonchalance of the North. The common 
(194) 



NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS. I95 

national characteristic of the people of both sections, 
however, is the power of adapting themselves to every 
variety of circumstance. No matter what the impor- 
tance, or the insignificance of the occasion, or event, 
upon which they perceive that their opportunity for 
the attainment of a desired object depends, they are 
ready at the right moment to seize and turn it to 
account; and while, to-day, the banks of the Ganges 
or the Tigris are made to yield up to them the fruits 
of their industry and produce, to-morrow, when a 
modification of the law of demand and supply prevails, 
we find the same men following the tide of fortune 
through humbler but equally useful channels. We 
are pre-eminently a practical people, and that this 
characteristic to some extent destroys the poetic aspect 
of American life, cannot be gainsaid. The homes 
of our infancy, the graves of our kindred, the hills 
upon whose summits we first felt the glory of the morn- 
ing, the altar at which we first knelt in prayer, the 
rustic nook where we listened for the one step to which 
our boyish hearts beat sweetest time; have no power 
to trammel our migratory proclivities, or to check our 
local inconstancy. The sentiments with which such 
objects are indissolubly connected, are but tendrils 
clinging round the parent nest, and the wings of the 
new-fledged bird, bursting them asunder, he soars out 
into the world to contend and battle with its storms. 

One of the least attractive illustrations of this spirit 
of unrest, is where it extends to our women, and Miss 
Belle Boyd's is in our estimation a case in point. 
" Unknown to her the rigid rule, 

The dull restraint, the cliiding frown, 
The weary torture of the^ school ; 
Tiie taming of wild nature down. 



196 SWORD AND PEN. 

Her only lore, the legends told 

Around the soldiers' fire ; at night 

Stars rose and set, and seasons rolled ; 
Flowers bloomed, and snowflakes fell, 
Unquestioned, in her sight ! " 

Her career was full of adventure and intrepid daring, 
and she served the disloyal cause she espoused faith- 
fully and to the bitter end; and then, like other wander- 
ing stars of the unholy strife, sank into the oblivion of 
private life. From the time of Miss Boyd's visit until 
the seventh of May, Willard Glazier continued to lead 
the same dull life at Libby Prison. The monotony of 
the hours was unbroken by any circumstance more 
exciting than a visit from the celebrated partisan chief, 
Mosby, who is described by Glazier as a jjreux chevalier , 
at that time about twenty-eight years of age, in figure, 
slight, with straight fair hair and closely shaven face, 
except that " a faded German moustache overshadowed 
his upper lip." It does not appear that he was recog- 
nized as a welcome visitor, although he jocularly 
remarked to some of the prisoners who had been cap- 
tured by his own troopers that he was "glad to see 
them there.'' 

Time! what wonders dost thou work. But a few 
years have passed, and Mosby, who was erst so malig- 
nant a rebel, that even the poor, but loyal, prisoners, 
presented him the cold shoulder, is now a confidential 
friend of General U. S. Grant! Longstreet again 
swears by the Star-Spangled Banner ; and Beauregard, 
hero of Sumter and Bull Run, is now an advocate of 
perfect equality between the black and white races of 
his Southern State of Louisiana ! 

The visit of Colonel Mosby was the last memorable 



GLAZIER ATTEMPTS TO ESCAPE. 197 

incident of our hero's sojourn in Libby. Upon the 
seventh of May following, the prisoners were removed 
thence to Danville, Virginia. Several, in the course 
o4" this transit, effected their escape, but the great 
majority were safely conveyed to tiieir new place of ini- 
})risoni))ent. The change made no improvement in 
their unhappy condition. True, tiie rations furnished 
at Danville w^ere of somewhat better quality, and more 
liberal in quantity, but tiie discipline was equally 
Draconian, and the })enalty of its slightest infraction — 
Death ! The chief source of misery aniong the captives 
was want of room, the men being compelled to sleep 
*' spoon -fash ion," and in detachments, many being 
compelled to stand up awake while their comrades 
slept as best they could. 

This condition of things, however, did not last long. 
Early upon the morning of the twelfth, the prisoners 
were once more marched out and started southward. 
After a journey of twenty-four hours in cattle cars, ex- 
posed most of the time to a drenching rain, they were 
disembarked and tramped another twelve miles to 
Greensboro. Here the mass of weary, wet, and hope- 
less patriots were about to be driven, pell-mell, like a 
herd of cattle, into a train of filthy cars, when young 
Glazier thought he espied a chance of evading his 
captors. He waited until it appeared to him that the 
guard was sufficiently occupied with other duties to over- 
look his whereabouts, and then slipped behind a log, 
where in an instant he lay upon the ground apparently 
fast asleep, trusting in the confusion attendant upon the 
departure of the train to escape observation. But luck 
was against him. The only result was the infliction 
upon that portion of his body which some mothers 
15 



198 SWORD AND PEN. 

consider the "corrective point" of their children, of 
sundry unceremonious kicks, wliich, corning from sucli 
boots as the " C. S. A." at that time supi)lied to their 
sokliers, were felt to be more persuasive than agree- 
able. Of course it became necessary to awaken from 
his profound slumber slowly, which made the kicks 
still more persuasive, and by the time he was erect, 
the cars were filled and tiie doors all closed. The 
guards therefore insisted upon his effecting an entrance 
through the small window, wliich he did with certain 
vigorous assistance from behind, and landed upon the 
head and shoulders of Lieutenant-Colonel Joselyn, of 
the Fifteenth Massachusetts Infantry, who passed him 
around in such a way that the other occupants of the 
car were moved to sundry objurgations at the expense 
of our young friend more forcible than polite, and par- 
taking little of the nature of a hospitable reception ! 
Howev^er, tliis is a world of compromises, and Glazier 
soon found his level among his fellow-captives. 

Their route took them through a portion of North 
Carolina, where for the first time they met with un- 
mistakable proofs of sympathy. At one city, on 
learning there were Yankee prisoners in town, the 
citizens came out in large numbers. Many attempted 
to converse with them, but were forced back at the 
point of the bayonet. The prisoners then struck up 
the "Star-Spangled Banner,^' and "Rally Round the 
Flag," and in each interlude could see white handker- 
chiefs waving in the breeze, demonstrations that so 
exasperated the Virginia guard that they sent a detail 
to drive "the d — d tar-heels" from the field. 

The contiguity of friends of course presented a 
strong temptation to some to strike for liberty. Every 



!liil \ sii nnvviimmt i ~ I 




BURIED ALIVE/ 199 

device promising the least chance of escape was there- 
fore resorted to. Among the most ingenious of these 
was one so graphically described by young Glazier 
that we make no apology for again using his language: 

"The night being very dark," he writes, "and the 
soil where we were huddled together very sandy and 
light, many of the prisoners dug holes in the ground and 
there buried themselves, hoping thus to escape the ob- 
servation of the guard when we should be marched 
from the field to the cars. Unfortunately, however, 
the scheme was exposed by one of the guard who ac- 
cidentally stumbled into one of the holes, in the bottom 
of which he beheld a live 'Yankee.' Struck with 
amazement, he shouted out: ^Oh, my G — , Captain, 
here is a Yankee buried alive!' Great excitement was 
the natural consequence. A general search ensued, 
torch-lights were used, and the trees and ground 
thoroughly inspected. This investigation brought to 
light several holes of a similar character, each having 
deposited therein a Federal prisoner. The guards were 
very angry and went about shouting, ' Kun them 
through! Pick up the d — d hounds!' but their 
captain, a good-natured sort of man, stopped all this. 
'JS'o,' said he, 'the d — d Yankees have a right to 
escape if they can. Let them alone. I'll risk their 
getting away from me ! ' " 

Some of the burrowers did escape, however, and 
several others hid themselves in the foliage and were 
left behind. 

After this nothing eventful occurred upon the way, 
and on the fifteenth of the same month, the whole 
party arrived at Augusta, Georgia, and found the home 
guards, to whose custody they were consigned, a bad 
lot. From that city they were soon after removed to 



200 SWOMJJ AND PEN. 

Macon. Up to this period, amid all the mortifications 
of their condition, notwithstanding their tiresome 
rides and weary marches; despite the chagrin <hov 
naturally felt when well-laid plans of escape were frus- 
trated by accidents beyond the power of men to foresee, 
they still had one source of consolation — there was at 
least one drop of balm in Gilead — for had they not 
gotten rid of — Turner ! 

Judge, then, of their mingled horror and despair 
when they reached the front gate of Camp Oglethorpe, 
their future prison, to find that monster before them, 
lounging gracefully against the gate entrance, and evi- 
dently delighted with the idea of being in a condition 
to shock his former victims with his presence. 

The laugh, however, was not entirely his, for, upon 
mustering them, he discovered that forty-seven had 
escaped. Smothering his wrath for the moment, he 
welcomed the remainder to their prison-house, with the 
gratifying intelligence that it had its dead-line, and all 
who a])proached it had better be ready to meet the 
contingencies of a future state of rewards and punish- 
ments! 

After horrifying them with his presence, he shortly 
took himself off, and not long afterward, to their great 
relief, was ordered back to Richmond. 

Before the week had expired, Glazier had an oppor- 
tunity of estimating how careless (f) some of his 
custodians were in handling their firearms, being an 
eye-witness of an attempt by a sentinel to shoot Lieu- 
tenant Barker, of the First Rhode Island Cavalry. The 
bullet, kinder than the boy who sped it on its errand 
'^for this guard was not over fourteen years of age), 
passed over the old man's head. As the latter noted 



A YOUNG MONSTER, 201 

the direction of the lad's aim, and heard the whistle of 
the bullet above him, he very temperately asked the 
somewhat unnecessary question, " What are you shooting 
at?" " lam shooting at you, you d — d old cuss." '^Wliat 
are you shooting at me for?" mildly inquired the lieu- 
tenant. "Because you had your hands on the dead- 
line," answered the boy. At this moment the sergeant 
of the guard came up, and taking the precocious ruf- 
fian by the collar, shook him with considerable energy, 
and demanded of him very fiercely, " What the devil 
are you shooting at that prisoner for, you little scoun- 
drel ? " The boy replied that the prisoner had his 
hands on the dead-line. Whereupon the sergeant 
shook him again, told him he was a liar, and that the 
lieutenant was not within twenty feet of the dead-line, 
and consigned him to the custody of the corporal of 
the guard, who marched the young monster away. 

Captain Glazier states that he was within ten feet of 
the lieutenant when the shot was fired, and that the latter 
was not la'ilhin thirty feet of the fated line. The incident 
was not very exhilarating upon the threshold of his 
new abode, and the prisoners naturally felt greatly 
exasperated when they heard the particulars. 

An order was promulgated next morning by the 
officer commanding, Captain W. K. Tabb, directing 
that '^any of their number not in ranks at roll-call 
should be shot," which was not calculated to make them 
think more kindly of their jailers. The fact is, that the 
prisoners, in pursuance of a settled determination to lose 
no opportunity of escape that seemed at all feasible, 
had been again making experiments in tunneling, and 
this atrocious order was intended as a measure of pre- 
caution a<iainst similar schemes in future. 



202 SWORD AND PEN. 

Thus exclu(le<l from the relief afforded by such hope- 
ful occupation, their poor captives had to find otlier 
eni})loyment for their leisure hours, and at this time a 
kind of religious revival took place among them, and 
if human prayer could have effected the destruction of 
the Confederacy, that organization would certainly have 
crumbled into dust forthwith. The enthusiasm was so 
great that at times the exercises bordered upon tumult, 
and greatly incensed their less fervent guards. At one 
time a huge Western man poured forth such a rhap- 
sody in favor of Grant and Sherman, and garnished it 
with such pungent denunciations of Jefferson Davis, 
and other Confederate magnates, that one of the 
jailers commented thus: "D — d smart praying, but it 
won't do! It won't do!" 

On the morning of the tenth of August, an order 
from the Confederate War Department was read before 
theentire garrison of Camp Oglethor{)e, and caused much 
excitement. This order directed that a detachment of 
fifty prisoners, selected from officers of the highest 
rank, should be forwarded to Charleston, in order that 
they might be placed under the fire of the siege guns 
with which the beleaguering Union forces were attempt- 
ing the reduction of that city. The order further 
directed that Generals Scammon, Wessels, Seymour, 
Schuyler and Hcckman should be included in the 
number. The mandate was of course at once executed, 
and the departure of the devoted band was the signal 
for a wild burst of indignant reprobation of the Con- 
federate authorities^ It happened also, at this time, 
that one of the sentinels shot and mortally wounded a 
prisoner. The victim's name was Otto Grierson, and 
he had been a general ftworite. The excuse assijrned 



OTTO GRIERSON. 203 

for the murder was that he was endeavoring to escape, 
but his comrades declared that at the time the shot was 
fired, he was fully sixteen feet from the dead-line, and 
had made no attempt to escape. Young Glazier and 
others joined in a formal report of the facts to the 
officer in command, but the only result was that the 
murderer received promotion, and was granted a 
furlough ! 

If the statements of Captain Glazier regarding this 
and other contemporaneous outrages are to be relied 
upon (and he is very strongly corroborated), the officers 
commanding this military prison sadly abused their 
trust. Even the highest of those officials indulged iu 
such petty exhibitions of puerile spite as to be alto- 
gether unworthy of his station, or even the name of an 
American. 

On the arrival of the Fourth of July, the prisoners 
very naturally determined, as far as their limited 
resources would permit, to celebrate the occasion. Ac- 
cordingly, in true American fashion, a meeting was 
called, at which speeches of a patriotic character were 
made, songs sung, and a miniature flag, containing the 
full number of stars and stripes, which one of their 
number had concealed about his person, was produced, 
and became an object of much interest. Instead of 
magnanimously ignoring all this harmless enthusiasm, 
the commander of the prison marched in a regiment of 
soldiers and violently dispersed the meeting! 

On the twenty-seventh of «Tuly, six hundred pris- 
oners were counted out, as they supposed to be added 
to the others under fire at Charleston, but really for 
removal to Camp Davidson, at Savannah, Georgia. 

This change was for the better. In the first place, 



204 SWORD ASD PEN. 

in lieu of tlie Sahara of shatlcless sand anrl clay of their 
former prison grounds, tliey found at "Davidson" a 
number of fine oaks, beneath tlie shade of wJiicli they 
were jiermitted to recline in {)eace. In addition to this, 
and a matter of infinitely greater importance, their 
guards were officered by gentlemen. Captain Glazier 
states that the authorities here issued tents, cooking 
utensils, and decent ratio!is, and adds this tribute to 
their generally manly conduct toward the prisoners: 
" The troops here have seen service, and there is 
nothin<>; like the battle-field and the suffering^ there 
experienced to teach soldiers humanity toward each 
other. Whenever attempts are made to escape, they give 
us to understand that they would do the same them- 
selves, under like circumstances, but are still compelled 
to punish such infractions of discipline. They politely 
ask our pardon for inspecting our quarters, and in a 
manner as gentlemanly as possible, remove our blankets 
from the floor of our tents in their search for incipient 
tunnels. All this is very gratifying and tends to 
assuage the bitter hatred which former brutality has 
engendered. These Georgia boys will be long remem- 
bered, and may look for the utmost kindness and con- 
sideration from us if the chances of war ever reverse 
our situations.'' 

This is a record for Georgia nobler far than any she 
ever gained upon the battle-field, albeit her sons were 
always in the van. All honor to them ! Such victories 
are well worth the winning. 

But pleasant as their Georgia quarters were by com- 
parison with former experiences, the captives were 
afflicted with the malade du pays — the home-sickness 
that tugged at their hearts, and bade them again and 



A PLOT DISCOVERED 205 

again risk death for the chance of freedom. Tunnel 
after tunnel was attempted, and one, constructed by a 
select band (sworn to secrecy), was upon the eve of 
completion, when a straggling cow blundered upon 
the frail covering of turf, and became so securely 
imbedded in the falling earth that she could not extri- 
cate herself Her bellowing attracted the attention of 
the sentinel, the plot was discovered, and, of course, 
frustrated. 

Despite such disappointments, however, when the 
time can^, as it soon did, for the prisoners to leave 
Savannah, they did so with sentiments of gratitude for 
the comparatively humane treatment they had received 
at the hands of the Georgians, not unmingled, how- 
ever, with apprehensions concerning their future, for 
it was openly rumored that they were destined to join 
their former fellow-prisoners now under fire of Gil- 
mores siege guns at Charleston. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

UNDER FIRE AT CHARLESTON. 

Under siege. — Charleston Jail. — The Stars and Stripes. — Federal 
compliments. — Under the guns. — Roper Hospital. — Yellow Jack. 
— Sisters of Charity. — Rebel Christianity. — A Byronic stanza. — 
Charleston to Columbia. — "Camp Sorghum." — Nemesis. — Another 
dash for liberty. — Murder of Lieutenants Young and Parker. — 
Studying topography. — A vaticination. — Back to reality. 

rflHE next we see of Lieutenant Glazier is in the city 
JL of Charleston, South Carolina, on the twelfth of 
September, 1864. Coming Street on the morning of that 
day was crowded with people of every variety of call- 
ing, from the priest and sister of charity, out on their 
merciful errands, to the riff-raff and sans-culottes out on 
no errand at all but to help the excitement. The city 
was under siege. 

At the end of the street a body of six hundred 
emaciated, broken-spirited, ragged men, escorted by a 
strong o^uard, marched along:, and the busiest of the 
pedestrians paused to gaze upon them as they passed. 
Coarse and scurrilous was the greeting the captives 
received from the motley and shameless groups. A 
few of the more respectable citizens, however, spoke 
words of grace to them, and some added hopeful pre- 
dictions of the final triumph of the Union cause. The 
prisoners were hurried forward to the yard of Charleston 
Jail, where for the first time in many weary months 
they beheld the glorious flag of their country floating 
iu the breeze over Morris Island. Weak as they were 
(206) 



CHARLESTON JAIL. 207 

the patriotic sentiment was still stro!ig witliin them, 
and they gave one rousing cheer ! Some, des})ite the 
curses of their guard, dancing like children, wliile 
others wept tears of joy. 

The jail, as Captain Glazier describes it, was a large 
octagonal building of four stories, surmounted by a 
tower. In the rear was a large workshop, in appear- 
ance like a bastile, where some of the prisoners were 
confined. As a lugubrious accessory to his own quar- 
ters, he had a remarkably clear view of a gallows, 
erected directly in front of his fragment of a tent. 
" The ground floor of the jail was occupied by ordinary 
criminal convicts; the second story by Confederate 
officers and soldiers, under punishment for military 
offences; the third by negro prisoners, and the fourth 
by Federal and Confederate deserters, and it is com- 
plimentary to the good sense of the rebels that deserters 
from eiiher side were treated by them with equal 
severity.'^ He gives a sad account of the terrible 
condition of the negro soldiers and their officers who 
were captured at Fort Wagner, and says the hospital 
at this place was "a lazar-house of indescribable 
misery." 

On the twenty-second of September, Glazier makes 
the following note on the progress of the siege: 

*' Shelling is kept up vigorously. From sixty to a 
hundred huge, smoking two-hundred-pounders convey 
Federal compliments daily to the doomed city." 

It appears, however, that, for the most part, the 
destructive effects of this bombardment were confined 
to what was known as the " burnt district," and caused 
little damage to the occupied portion of the city. 

Seven days after the above entry in his journal hia 



208 SWORD AND PEN. 

heart was gladdened by an order for removal, with his 
fellow-prisoner and messmate, Lieutenant Richardson, 
to Roj)er Hospital ; a place much more tolerable as 
to its situation and appointments, though still within 
shell-range of the bombarding force. Prior to the trans- 
fer, a written ])arole was obtained from each, in which 
they pledged themselves, while in their new quarters, 
to make no attempt to escape. 

Here our prisoner found opportunity under the 
usual restrictions for writing the following letter 
home : 

[Only one page allowed ] 

C. S. Military Prison, ] 

Charleston, South Carolina, > 
KoPER Hospital, October 4th, 1864. J 
My Dear Mother: 

For a long lime you liave doubtless waited with anxiety some in- 
telligence of your absent son, which would tell youof his health, and 
liis prospectsof release from the disagreeable restraints of prison life ; 
and I am now delighted to find this opportunity of writing to you. 
Since my last letter, which was dated at Libby J*rison, I have been 
confined at Danville, Virginia ; Macon and Savannah, Georgia ; and 
at this point. My health for the most part has been very poor, 
which I attribute to the inactivity of prison life. I have also 
suflfered much for want of clothing. I have a pair of shoes on to- 
day that I bought more than a year ago; have run about barefoot for 
days and weeks during the past summer;many of my comrades have 
been compelled to do the same. I do not look for a general exchange 
before winter, though I hope and pray that it may take place to- 
morrow. There is now an opportunity for sending boxes to pris- 
oners. I should be glad to receive one from home if convenient. 
Please give my love to all the family circle. Remember me to 
my friends, and believe me ever 

Your affectionate son, 

WiLLARD. 

The days passed anxiously with Glazier, when the 
yellow fever began its inroads upon the prisoners. 



SISTERS OF CHARITY. 209 

He had now, at the same moment, to face death at 
the hands of man, and by the pestilence — a condi- 
tion of things to which the bravest spirit might 
succumb. One great source of consolation was de- 
rived from the visits of the Sisters of Charity, who 
were always found where suffering and peril prevailed. 
Writing of these angelic women. Captain Glazier 
gays: — "Confined as we are, so far away from every 
home comfort and influence, and from all that makes 
life worth living, how quickly do we notice the first 
kind word, the passing friendly glance! Can any 
prisoner confined here ever forget the ^Sisters of 
Charity?' Ask the poor private now suffering in the 
loathsome hospital so near us, while burning with 
fever, or racked with pain, if he can forget the kind 
look, the gracious word given him by that sister. 
Many are the bunches of grapes — many the sip of their 
pure juice, that the sufferer gets from her hands. 
They seem, 'they are ^ministering angels;' and while 
all around us are our avowed enemies, ihey remain 
true to every instinct of womanhood. They dare lift 
the finger to help, they do relieve many a sufferer. 
All through the South our sick and wounded soldiers 
have had reason to bless the * Sisters of Charity.' 
They have ministered to their wants and performed 
those kind womanly offices which are better to the 
sick than medicine, and are so peculiarly soothing to 
the dying. These noble women have attended their 
sick-beds when other Christian ladies of the South 
looked on unpityingly, and turned away without even 
tendering the cheap charity of a kind word. They 
have done what others w^ere too scornful and cruel to 
do — they have done what others did not dare do. They 
!6 



210 SWORD AJSD PEN. 

were, for some inscrutable reason, permitted to bestow 
their charities wlieiever charities were needed. Their 
bounties were bestowed indiscriminately on Federal 
and Confederate suflerers, and evidenced a broad 
philanthropy untainted by party-feeling or religious 
bigotry. Many a poor soldier has followed tliem 

from ward to ward with tearful eyes Were 

other Christian denominations in the Soutli as active 
in aiding us as the Catholics have been, I might have 
some faith in * Rebel Christianity."^ 

This is no niean tribute to the beneficent influences 
of the Catholic church, albeit the pen of a Protestant 
records It; but the facts fully justify him. Protestant 
England had one — the Church of Rome has her legions 
of Florence Nightingales. They are found in the 
camp, and the hospital, and the prison — wherever hu- 
man sympathy can palliate human sutiering; they 
are to be found where even wives and mothers flee 
before the dreaded pestilence, and these ministers of 
divine love, like light and air, and the dews of Heaven, 
visit alike the rich and poor, the sinner and the saint; 
the only claim they recognize being the claim of suffer- 
ing and misfortune. 

Willard Glazier remained under (he guns of his 
friends until the fiftii of October, and during his so- 
journ here had various opportunities of forming an 
ac(piaintance with vagrant shot and shell that struck or 
exploded near the hos])ital building, but fortunately 
did no greater damage to its inmates than create *' a 
scare.'* 

What was much more serious was the prevalence of 
the deadly fever, which was of a most malignant type, 
and carried off, among its many victims, the Confed* 



REMOVAL TO COLUMBIA. 211 

erate commander and his adjutant. The prisoners 
therefore were removed— the autliorities assigning as 
their reason for the step, the "danger to which they 
would be exposed on account of the fever;" and 
although, at the time, it appeared an anomaly to the 
prisoners, ^^ after bringing them there to be murdered 
by their own guns, to remove ihem for the purpose of 
saving them from death in another shape,"— yet it is 
possible such was the case. At all events they were 
removed, and their "Poet Laureate "—Lieutenant 
Ogden, of Wisconsin— wrote a farewell poem, contain- 
ing among others, the following " Byronic" stanza: 

" Thy Sanctuaries are forsaken now ; 

Dark mould and moss cling to thy fretted towers; 
Deep rents and seams, where struggling lichens grow. 

And no sweet voice of prayer at vestal hour ; 
But voice of screaming shot and bursting shell, 
Thy deep damnation and thy doom foretell. 
The ' fire' has left a pile of broken walls, 
And Night-hags revel in thy ruined halls!" 

Who will say that a dread Nemesis has not over- 
taken the metropolis of the Palmetto State? Streets 
covered with grass, once the busy scenes of com- 
merce and industry, in this city of secession which 
was formerly the head and front of treason and rebel- 
lion ! 

Escorted by the Thirty-second Georgia Volunteers, 
Glazier and his fifteen hundred companions were 
marched through the principal streets of the city to the 
depot, where they took the cars for Columbia, the 
State capital. None will ever forget the parade of 
ragged and bearded men through King Street. But 
the°Georgian guards, v.-hile strictly attentive to duty, 



212 SWORD AND PEN. 

showed the politeness and demeanor of gentlemen. He 
says of them, at this point in the history of his impris- 
onment, " the Georgia troops seem to be by far the 
most civil and gentlemanly of all the Southern army. 
They were the most respectable in appearance, most 
intelligent and liberal in conversation, and to a greater 
extent than others, recognized the principle that a man 
is a man under whatever circumstances he may be 
placed, and is entitled to humane treatment. They 
very generally addressed the prisoners as * gentle- 
men.' " 

The same kind of unventilated and filthy cattle-cars 
were employed in their transportation as had been 
used in their various previous removals. All suffered 
from want of water, air and space. The arrival of the 
captives at Columbia took place in the midst of a 
drenching rain-storm, and during the entire night, 
with scarcely any clothing, no rations, and no shelter, 
they were exposed to the merciless elements, while 
not twenty yards off, in front of their camping ground, 
glared the muzzles of a park of loaded artillery. The 
prisoners, being in a starving condition, looked the 
picture of despair. A discovery however was made of 
some bacon suspended to the rafters of the building 
that enclosed them, in one corner se})aratcd by a par- 
tition. As the famished men looked through the bars 
of a window and saw this tempting food, their eyes 
watered, and their inventive faculties were aroused. 
Hooks, strings and poles were brought into requisition, 
and in a short time most of the meat, by Yankee 
talent, was transferred from the rafters of the building 
to the stomachs of the prisoners ! 

The day following, they were moved to a spot about 



"CAMP SORGHUMr 213 

two miles from the town, and bivouacked in an open 
field, without any shelter whatever. Surrounded by 
the usual cordon of sentries, and menaced with the cus- 
tomary '^dead-line," they were turned loose to provide 
for themselves, neither axe, spade, nor cooking utensils 
being provided them. Two days after their arrival 
some corn-meal and sorghum were issued, the latter a 
substitute for molasses. A great many suffered from 
diarrhoea and dysentery in consequence, and the place 
from this circumstance acquired the sobriquet of 
"Camp Sorghum." 

They had no quarters to protect them from the cold 
November storms, only huts constructed by themselves 
of brush and pine boughs. The treatment at " Camp 
Sorghum " was so exceptionally brutal, that almost 
every dark night starving men would run the guard 
and risk their lives to escape dying by inches. Some- 
times as many as thirty or forty would run in one 
night. Generally some daring fellow would act as 
forlorn hope and rush past the sentries, drawing their 
fire, at the imminent ri<k of forfeiting his own life, 
his comrades joining him before the guards could 
reload their rifles. The latter would then fire a vol- 
ley into the cam[), killing or wounding some of the 
prisoners. Lieutenant Young, of the Fourth Pennsyl- 
vania Cavalrv, was thus shot dead whilst sittin^r at 
his hut, and according to Captain Glazier, "no reason 
for this atrocity was aj^parent, and none was assigned 
by the guards." The poor young fellow had been a 
prisoner twenty-two months. About this time the 
guards accidentally killed two of their own men, in 
their reckless and savage shooting, and afterwards ob- 
served more care in firing at the prisoners. 



214 SWORD AND PEN. 

Hounds were kept near the prison to track escaped 
fugitives. Lieutenant Parker, while attempting to es- 
ca})e, was so much torn and bitten by these dogs that 
he died the day after his recapture. 

Mingled with thoughts of home, and the friends 
gathered around loved firesides, there had by this time 
arisen in young Glazier's mind a stern determination 
to win his freedom, or, in the effort, lose his life. 

As the weather grew colder, the possession of wood 
became a matter of necessity, and some of the prisoners 
were paroled to pass beyond the lines, and gather such 
broken branches and pieces of bark in the neighboring 
woods as they could carry back into camp. Glazier 
availed himself of this privilege, and stored up an 
abundance. of fuel. But a more important acquisition 
than fuel to him was the knowledge he obtained of the 
topography of the surrounding country. One great 
difficulty he foresaw in getting away arose from the 
sorry condition of his shoes, which were nearly soleless. 
He succeeded, however, in obtaining the rim of an old 
regulation-hat, and out of this fashioned a serviceable 
pair of soles for his worn-out brogans, and thus re- 
moved one obstacle from his path. 

We need feel no surj)rise that he and many of his 
companions thought no risk too great to run for the 
chance of effecting their escape. Their treatment by 
this time had become so bad as to be almost unendur- 
able. For example, to avoid being frozen to death, 
they were compelled to run arOund all night, and only 
when the sun arose in the morning dare they venture 
to recline themselves on the ground to sleep. The 
truth is, that our friend, in common with many of his 
comrades, had arrived at the desperate conclusion that no 



LIBERTY OR DEATH. 215 

fate, even death by shooting, or by hounds, could be 
worse than the misery and suffering he was now en- 
during. It was not alone that they were starved and 
shelterless, sick and unattended, nearly naked, with 
no hope of being clad ; it was not alone that they were 
immersed, day and night, in filth and squalor like 
hogs, with no prospect of re.ief to cheer them; but, in 
addition to all this suffering of their own, they were 
compelled to witness the sufferings of others — to hear 
their sighs and groans, and look upon faces that hard 
usage and despair had made ghastly and terrible. 
They would greet in the morning a man sick and 
emaciated perhaps, but still a human being, erect and 
in God's image, who, in the evening of the same day, 
would disappear from among them, making a desperate 
dash for freedom. The next day a broken, nerveless, 
shivering wretch would be dragged into their midst, 
blood-stained, faint, and with the gashes of a blood- 
hound's teeth covering his face and throat! 

Thus it was that existence became unbearable. 
Their own sufferings were hard, but to continue for 
many long months looking upon the sufferings of 
others added to their misery beyond endurance. 
Accordingly, when ThanlvSgiving-day arrived, and 
the excitement created by Sherman's "march to the 
sea" had reached its highest point, Glazier and a 
fellow-prisoner, named Lieutenant Lemon, determined 
that they would wait no longer the slow process of 
tunneling, but make a bold effort for liberty — or die 
in the attempt. 

" It was customary," says the former, " to extend 
the guard-line in the morning for the purpose of 
allowing prisoners (as previously stated) to collect 



21G SWORD AND PEN. 

fuel on a piece of timbered land just opposite the camp, 
and it was our intention this morning to take a shovel, 
when permitted to pass to the woods, and make a hole 
in the ground large enough to receive our two ^skele- 
tons/ and then enlist the services of some friend, who 
would cover us up with brush and leaves, so that, 
when the guard was withdrawn, we would be left 
without the camp." The plan looked feasible, and, if 
successful, it would not be a difficult matter to reach 
Augusta, Georgia, at which point they hoped to find 
themselves within Sherman's lines. The fates, how- 
ever, decreed otherwise. Their scheme was rendered 
abortive by the simple fact, that upon that particular 
morning, the line was not extended at all. Why it 
was not, is purely a matter of conjecture. Possibly, 
"the morning being unusually cold and raw," the 
guard did not care to leave their own snug tents along 
the line of the encampment, with no greater induce- 
ment than that of increasing the comfort of their 
Yankee prisoners, who, for that day, were left without 
any fires at all; but, be this as it may, the guard-line 
was not extended as was usual, and thus the plot of our 
young friends was frustrated for the time being. They 
agreed to '^ watch, pray and acV^ at the very first op- 
portunity that presented. It was not long before that 
opportunity came. 

Early upon the day following that of their disap- 
pointment, the conspirators arranged that each should 
make a reconnaissance of the lines, discover the weak 
points of the enemy, and, that being accomplished, 
rendezvous at a given spot, ready to act upon any 
likely plan that might suggest itself to them. Glazier 
had becoma u tolerably expert physiognomist, and 



CROSSING THE DEAD LINE. 217 

singled out an unsophisticated-looking giant, who was 
patrolling a certain beat, as the best man among the 
line of sentries on whom to practise an imposition. 
This individual was evidently a good-natured lout, not 
long in the service, and very much resembling our 
conception of "Jonas Chuzzlewit," in respect to his 
having been ''put away and forgotten for half a cen- 
tury/* It is only necessary to add that his owners 
"had stuck a musket in his hand, and placed him on 
guard." Yet there was some pluck in him. He was 
just the sort of man who, led by a good officer, would 
fight like a lion, but whose animal instincts had so 
befogged his intellect that, if left to his own resources, 
he woukl be as likely to ruin friend as foe. 

When Glazier rejoined his comrade, he described 
this man, and the friends agreed that they would 
boldly cross the "dead-line'* immediately in front 
of him, be ready to answer promptly his challenge, 
and, by the audacity of their movement, attempt 
to deceive him in regard to their real character and 
purpose. With such a man as they had to deal with, 
this scheme was certain to result in one of two things: 
he would let them pass, or he would kill them both; 
therefore, courage and sang-froid were matters of first 
necessity. 

Accordingly, with the utmost coolness, and laughing 
and chatting together, they sauntered up to and upon 
the fatal line. The sentinel looked at them in amaze- 
ment. He then brought his i)iece to bear upon Glazier, 
completely covering his person, and, \\\x\\ the usual 
order to "Halt!'* added: " Whar in hell are you 
going, Yanks?'* As if his dignity was seriously 
offended by this demand, our hero answered this 



218 SWORD AM) PEN. 

question by asking another: *' Do you halt paroled 
prisoners here ? " " His meek ' No, sir ! ' " Glazier re- 
lates, " was not yet lost in the distance when I boldly 
crossed the dreaded line, adding: ^ Then let my 
friend in the rear follow me;' and so we passed, while 
the sentinel murmured ^All right!' And right it was, 
for now we were free, breathing the fresh air, un- 
tainted by the breath of hundreds of famishing, dis- 
eased and dying men." 

They could not proceed very far without falling ia 
with numbers of the paroled prisoners and their 
guards. This they did, but their presence excited no 
suspicion or comment, as they assumed to belong to 
the party. They applied themselves to gathering 
wood and piling it apparently for transportation, and 
gradually crept on and on until they reached a point 
beyond the vision of the gray-jackets, when off they 
started at the top of their speed ; and although before 
long they were compelled to reduce their pace, they 
put several miles behind them in a space of time that 
at any other period of their lives, or under any other 
circumstances, would have seemed impossible. Pausing 
to regain breath, they turned, and Columbia was no 
longer within sight. This, in itself, was a relief, for 
the place was associated in their minds with tlie in- 
tense misery they had suffered within its boundaries. 

Could these men have forerseen the not very distant 
future, they would have known that every sigh and 
groan that cruelty had wrung from them in that place 
of torture would be avenged ; they would have seen 
loyal soldiers swarming in its streets, their old comrades 
in misery torn from the grasp of their merciless jail- 
ers, and the soulless "Southern Chivalry" thrust into 



A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE. 219 

their place; they would have seen red-handed ven- 
geance doom that city of blood to destruction, and the 
glaring tongues of fire lap up tlie costly goods and 
edifices of its vile and relentless citizens, and those who 
had no mercy for them in their wretchedness and 
famine, now awe-struck on finding that the men they 
had so barbarously trampled upon had now the power 
and the will to retort upon them with interest; they 
would have seen brothers in arms, who until now had 
been merciful to their enemies when in their power, 
suddenly transformed into ravenous wolves, fierce and 
terrible in their righteous wrath at the treatment their 
less fortunate brothers had met with in this city of 
blood. The Avenger had come ! and not one house 
but would fall a smouldering heap of ruins. They 
would have foreseen this city ablaze with burning 
homes for its sins against humanity; its men, so lately 
drunk with pride and satiated with cruelty to their 
countrymen; its women divested of all womanly at- 
tributes, and invested with those of demons, now all 
cowed and humbled in the dust! They would have 
seen one noted instance of the interference of a just 
Providence that occurred amid all this dreadful satur- 
nalia — a woman, ])ale, but beautiful of feature, delicate 
of form, madly rushing to and fro in front of her 
blazing house, crying for her child that lay within it. 
They would have seen a poor, emaciated prisoner, 
roused to exhibit strength and courage by the hope of 
saving life, rush in and drag the cradle and its inno- 
cent living freight from the very jaws of death, while 
burning rafters crashed and fell u?;;pn him ; they would 
have seen him place the babe in its mother's arms, and 
they would have seen that mother turn with streaming 



220 SWORD AND °EN. 

eyes to thank the saviour of her child, and then siaH 
back coiuscience-smitten, and scream and fall, seeing in 
her ehUds preserver a man who in the jirison had once 
implored her for a piece of bread because he was 
starving, and she sjjat upon him because he was of 
Northern race ! ! Could they have seen the future of 
the coming months, they would have seen all this and 
more. But no such prevision was vouchsafed them. 
Their thoughts were now of themselves. They felt 
that the shade of a deadly peril encompassed them. 
Columbia and its prison were hidden from their sight, 
but still they were so near that at any moment the 
hounds might scent them, and if recaptured, all the 
horrors they had undergone would be light compared 
with the fate they must submit to in the future. 

Fortunately for the purpose of our fugitives, the set- 
tlements, whether towns or villages, in that part of the 
country, were " few and far between." The residences 
of the planters were also distant from each other and 
few in number, and the ravines and swamps which 
abound there, while in many respects disagreeable and 
dangerous lurking spots, were still the safest refuges 
for hunted men. The wilder the country, the better 
it i)romised to Glazier and his comrade fleeing for 
their lives. Their greatest fear was the dreaded blood- 
hound. Our friends knew they could defeat most of the 
devices of human ingenuity in tracking them, but they 
were apprehensive that the instinct of the brutes, which 
a <lepraved humanity had enlisted in its service, might 
render abortive all their plans and precautions. They 
did their best, however, to baffle their canine foes, and 
nightfall found them hurrying forward on the Lexing- 
ton Court-house Road. 



CHAPTER XX» 

THE ESCAPE FROM COLUMBIA. 

Mysterious voices.-" I reckon deys Yankees."-" Who comes 
there?"— The Lady of the Manor.— A weird spectacle-— The 
struggle through the swarap^-A reflection on Southern swamps 
in general.— Tired nature's sweet re&toren 

THE attention of the fugitives wa.s suddenly arrested 
by the sound of human voices in their imme- 
diate rear. It occurred to both at once to discover as 
quickly as possible if the speakers were white or black, 
and they accordingly listened in the hope of learning 
their race by their dialect. This was by no means 
easy, the vernacular of the poorer class of whites in 
that section of the country very much resembling the 
ordinary language of the negroes. The comrades, there- 
fore, concluded to risk a halt until the strangers came 
up. Glazier then saluted them with the remark that 
it was *^a pleasant night," with the view of drawing 
them out before committing himself. ^'Indeed 'tis!" 
was the reply. This failed to convey the desired in- 
formation as to the color of the strangers, and they 
thought it wiser to hurry forward than prolong the 
conversation at some risk to their safety. Before they 
had advanced many steps, however, they were agree- 
ably surprised by hearing one of the same party re- 
mark to another, " I reckon deys Yankees," followed 
by the response, "Golly, I hope to God dey is!" 
Glazier immediately turned and inquired, "Do you 
17 (221) 



222 SWORD AND PEN. 

know who I am?" "I reckon I dunno yer, luassa/^ was 
the reply. " Have you ever seen a Yankee?" asked 
Glazier. " Lord bress yer, marser, V\q seen a right 
smart heap ov um down at Cluniby." "Well," said 
Glazier, "do we look like them?" " How'n de debbil 
can I tell dnt in de dark, marser?" answered the now 
unmistakable negro, " but I spec' yer talk jest like* em.'' 
" We are Yankees," responded Glazier, "and have just 
escaped from Columbia. My good fellow, can't you do 
somethino: for us?" **Ob course!" said our colored 
friend, i)romptly. " I'll do all I can for you, marster. 
I no nigga if 1 didn't 'sist de Y^ankees." 

The fugitives had heard so much from their fellow- 
])risoners of the sympathy exhibited by the colored 
people of the South for Federal soldiers, that they 
hesitated not for a moment to place the fullest confi- 
dence in these humble friends. They thereupon ex- 
plained their precise situation, and told them the story 
of their recent escape. They also learned from the 
negroes that they were returning to their masters, 
having come from Columbia, where they had been 
working upon a new prison stockade, now abandoned 
on account of the expected approach of General 
Sherman. ' 

The name of their "blaster" was Steadman, and, 
slave-fashion, one of the men was named "' Ben 
Steadman." They were directing their steps to Mr. 
Steadman's plantation on the Augusta Road, and the 
fugitives therefore decided to keep in their company 
and use them as guides. In the nature of things, 
unless guided by some one accustomed to traveling in 
a country so bare of landmarks, they would lose ground 
continually, even if they ever reached their destination. 



WHO GOES THERE? 223 

One of the negroes with that shrewdness engendered 
by slavery, in which cunning is the only protection 
against injury ; and strength and courage count for 
nothing ; suggested that so large a party would attract 
attention, and the safety of the two officers might be 
endangered. It was therefore finally determined that 
Ben should act as guide, and the other darkies take a 
different route home. Another advantage to be derived 
from dividing the party was that in the event of the 
fugitives being pursued, the double trail would 
mystify the hounds. Ere long Ben reached a 
bridle-path, which plunged into the wood, and as it 
offered superior advantages on account of its narrow- 
ness and privacy, and from the fact of its leading to 
the plantation of a well-known planter and therefore 
less likely to be suspected of being the road taken by 
escaped prisoners, the little party concluded that this 
was their safest route. They therefore hurried forward 
upon their way, Ben preceding them in the double 
capacity of guide and scout. A few miles from its 
commencement this path led to a blind road, which Ben 
informed them was seldom traveled by any in the 
night-time but men of his own race, so they turned into 
it, and had become quite joyful and careless, when sud- 
denly the challenge, "Who goes there?" rang out in 
the stillness, and the next moment Ben was halted by 
the sentry of a Confederate })icket consisting of eight 
men, who had bivouacked just off the road. Ben 
boldly advanced, and our two friends, it must be 
admitted, with more discretion than valor; started off 
like lightning, their "guide'' meanwhile amusing the 
guard with a description of how " Dem two oder dam 
niggas got skeered, kase dey thought Mars Sentinel 
must be a dam Yank ! " 



224 SWORD AND PEN. 

No harm could conic to Ben, as he was in a condition 
to prove that two other negroes had left Columbia with 
him, and the fugitives therefore feeling that he was 
safe, concealed themselves among the brush and 
awaited events. Ben shortly passed their place of hid- 
ing, in custody, en route to the Reserve, and our friends 
were not a little amused, despite their danger, to hear 
Ben's vigorous denunciation of "dem two cowardly 
niggas,'' who had taken to their heels! 

A few moments only elapsed before they were made 
aware, by certain unmistakable tokens, that they were in 
dangerous proximity to the Confederate encampment, 
and although nearly famished, for they had eaten noth- 
ing since morning, it was deemed safest to lie j^erdu ; so, 
thanking the good providence which had sped them 
thus far on their journey, they lay down and slept. 

Tho enemy's camp, which upon closer inspection, 
turned out to be simply the resting-place of a local 
patrol, unconnected with any regular command, broke 
up early in the morning, and Glazier and his companion 
once more had a clear road. Although hungry from 
long fasting, they ran swiftly over the swampy ground, 
and felt so elated to find themselves again in a state of 
freedom, that they laughed and joked like boys 
released from school, and pushed on until the verge of 
an extensive morass was reached and passed, and they 
found themselves in a section of country well wooded 
and watered, the alternate hills and vales presenting a 
pleasing variety to the eye. 

There was here also a public road, but it would have 
been dangerous to travel thereon, and they therefore 
strode on beneath the trees and umbrageous under- 
growth of the wood. Having had no breakfast. 




THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE UNDER DIFFICULTIES 



GROPING THEIR WAV. 225 

** blueberries " were not precisely the diet they would 
have selceted for dinner, but us necesaitas non habet 
leges, they quietly munched their berries, and we may 
hope felt grateful that matters were no worse. After 
a while they made a sudden detour, crossing the high- 
road, and by so doing, again broke the trail. Next 
they came to a clearing, but the sight of a planter 
leaning against a fence, soon sent them back to the 
friendly shelter of the wood. Late in the afternoon 
they came to a large plantation on the border of 
which was a copse, in which they lay down and 
watched for the opportunity of communicating with 
some of the house slaves. At the expiration of about an 
hour, a lady, probably the mistress of the estate, passed 
within a few yards of them, accompanied by a troupe 
of merry children. They however went on their way, 
utterly unconscious of the close proximity of two terri- 
ble Yankees! 

Here our fugitives remained quietly concealed until 
night, and then cautiously crept away. They pro- 
ceeded onward until they found themselves near a 
junction of cross-roads. Arrived at this junction, 
matters looked serious. Unlike mariners, they had no 
compass ; unlike Indians, they were inexpert at discern- 
ing a trail; and what was more appalling, they dis- 
tinctly saw reared up against the moonlit sky — a 
gallows ! Our two friends approached this object very 
cautiously. It was not an unusual thing to hang spies, 
and not unfrequently those mistaken for spies, but to 
hang them on a regularly constructed gibbet was not 
usual; and the.efore while Lemon insisted that the 
black and skeleton-like object that loomed against the 
horizon was a gallows, he still entertained some doubt 



226 SWORD AND PEN. 

upon the subject, ami determined to satisfy himself by 
a closer inspection. 

The weird object before them proved to be an inno- 
cent guide-boartl — the article of all others they most 
needed at that moment. Like the celebrated laws of 
Nero, however, the directions were posted very high, 
but Lemon being tall, our hero mounted on his shoul- 
ders and by the light of the moon deciphered the 
iascription. They had now no difficulty in choosing 
their way. On they pushed therefore; and during the 
black darkness of the night, crept through the tangled 
underwood, and over swamps where loathsome, crawl- 
ing things that shun by day the presence of man, now 
seemed to seek his acquaintance. How mysterious are 
these dense untrodden forests of the South ! The very 
air one breathes is living. Throughout the day a 
million chirping, whirring, twittering sounds, salute 
the ear. The short grass beneath the forest trees 
moves, writhes, and creeps with microscopic life, until 
the brain grows dizzy at the sight. At night it is no 
less marvellous to hear the myriad denizens of the 
swamps and woods; and terrible when your tread on 
some soft, velvety substance reveals a sleeping snake, 
who, at the same moment, attacks you with his poison- 
ous fang, mayhap, fatally. 

It is a singular, but well -accredited fact, that these 
great Southern swamps have been yearly deteriorating, 
while the surrounding country has been growing in 
civilization. Old writers tell us that the reptile life 
now infesting them in such rank luxuriance had 
scarcely any existence one hundred years ago. Colonel 
Byrd writes of the "Dismal Swamp:" "Since the 
surveyors have entered the Dismal Swamp they have 



DREAMS OF EOMR 227 

seen no living creature ; neither bird, beast, insect nor 
reptile, came to view. Not even a turl^ey-buzzard 
will venture to fly over it, no more than the Italian 
vulture will venture to fly over the filthy lake of 
Avernus ; or the birds of the Holy Land over the Salt 
Sea where Sodom and Gomorrah once stood." And 
yet, in the present day, insect and reptile life swarms 
there in every form through all the hours of the day 
and night ! 

Our fugitive friends, however, felt little inclination 
to philosophize upon this subject. The hope of com- 
ing liberty strengthened their limbs, and they bent all 
their energy to the task of moving forward ; walking, 
running, creeping, until the dawn of day approached, 
when weary and footsore they sought some secure spot 
and lay down and slept — perchance to dream of 
" Home, sweet Home " — perchance of " Camp Sor- 
ghum," and its ^'chivalric" guards — perchance of the 
dreadful blood-hounds whose fatal scent might even 
then be on their trail I 



CHAPTER XXI. 

LOYALTY OP THE NEGROES. 

Startled by hounds. — An unpleasant predicament. — A Christian 
gentlewoman. — Appeal to Mrs. Colonel Taylor. — " She did all she 
could." — A meal fit for the gods« — Aunt Katy. — " Lor' bress ye, 
marsters ! " — Uncle Zeb's prayer. — Hoe-cake and pinders. — Wood- 
craft versus astronomy. — Canine foes. — Characteristics of the slave. 
— Meeting escaped prisoners. — Danger. — Retreat and conceal- 
ment, 

IT is the morning of November twenty-eighth, 1864. 
The sun has just risen above the eastern hills, and 
his slanting beams fall upon the goodly heritage of 
Colonel Alexander Taylor, " C. S. A." There are, as 
yet, none of the usual features here of a war-stricken 
country ; everything around is rich and substantial. 
The residence is a stately mansion in the Elizabethan 
style, and the lady who, accompanied by two sweet 
children, walks the broad piazza, is evidently a refined 
gentlewoman. The colonel himself, like a gallant (but 
mistaken) knight, has "gone to the wars." 

She marvels what makes " Kupert," a noble hound, 
that but a moment ago stretched himself at full length 
across the hallway, rise and bound over the lawn, 
barking loudly and fiercely as he runs. She calls 
him — at first gently, and then peremptorily, until the 
old hound with evident reluctance obeys the summons, 
and crouches at her feet. She then directs a negro, 
whose tokens of age and long service are as pronounced 
as those of his canine rival, to find out what there is 
(228) 



ULYSSES AND CALYPSO. 229 

in the clump of trees beyond the north hedge, to excite 
'* Rupert's" anger. The venerable negro, with the 
dcliberateness of his race, proceeds in the direction 
indicated, but is saved the necessity of much exertion, 
by the startling appearance of a young soldier in a 
motley uniform of gray and blue — his coat of one 
color — his nether garments of another! He advances 
boldly toward the house, and the lady scrutinizes the 
intruder. The result of her examination shows her 
visitor to be a slight, but sinewy young man, with a 
frank and honest expression, and seemingly not more 
than eighteen years of age. The motley stranger drew 
near, and bowing gracefully saluted her with, "Good- 
morning, madam." 

The lady at once returned the salutation with a 
genial smile, that sent a thrill of pleasure and confi- 
dence to his heart. Without further ceremony he 
thereupon frankly and fearlessly informed Mrs. Taylor 
that he and his companion were escaped Union pri- 
soners; that they were in a condition of starvation; 
and appealed respectfully but most urgently to her as 
a woman, for humanity's sake, to assist them in their 
sore need by giving them food. She at first hesitated, 
startled by such a request from such a source. Her 
husband, she said, was an officer in the Confederate 
service, and if it became known that she had assisted 
those whom his government counted enemies, it would 
possibly bring reproach upon him. Our young hero 
(for he it was) then addressed her somewhat after the 
fashion of the unfortunate Ulysses in his appeal to the 
goddess Calypso; recounted his misfortunes briefly, 
touched on the terrible fate that awaited him and his 
companion, should they be recaptured, and all doubt- 



230 SWORD AND PEN. 

less in such moving terms that, like Desdemona, the 
lady must have thought, if she did not exclaim : 

" 'Twas pitiful — 'twas wondrous pitiful ! " 

This is evident from the fact that she scarcely 
awaited the end of his story, before assuring him that 
"she would do all she could,'' following up that as- 
surance in a few moments by offering the manly and 
polite youth before her an abundant supply of fresli 
and excellent food; which, she took the precaution of 
adding, was for himself and his comrade, fearing pos- 
sibly, from Glazier's famished look, he might consume 
it all himself! She further assured her visitor that 
she would keep the secret of his having been there ; 
while he, in return, protested that should the varying 
fortunes of war give him the opportunity of serving 
her husband, he would do so at the risk of his life. 
With his haversack amply replenished, an appetite like 
a wolf, faith in the goodness of God strengthened, and 
belief in the perfection of some, at least, of the fairest 
portion of creation greatly confirmed by this interview, 
he rejoined Lieutenant Lemon, and the comrades pro- 
ceeded forthwith to the meal that was enjoyed with 
a zest known only to the starving. Before reclining 
himself under the glittering stars. Glazier made this 
entry in his diary : " Oh ! ye who sleep on beds of 
down, in your curtained chambers, and rise at your 
leisure to feast upon the good things provided . . . 
you never knew the luxury of a night of 7^est, nor 
the sweets of a meal seasoned by hunger, and the 
grateful remembrance that it was provided by woman's 
kindly heart, which, wherever it may beat, sooner or 
later responds to the tale of misfortune.'^ 



UNCLE ZEB'S PRAYER. 231 

After a sleep so profound as to extend several hours 
beyond the time they had agreed upon as best adapted 
for the resumption of their journey, they found them- 
selves much refreshed and strengthened, so much so 
that by sunrise they had reached a small stream known 
as Black Creek, one of the tributaries of the North 
Edisto River. Here, in crossing a bridge, they very 
opportunely encountered a colored laborer, who was on 
his way to work, and who cheerfully turned aside to 
guide them to a hut, where he assured them they could 
remain in safety throughout the day. The proprietor 
of this refuge for hunted wayfarers was a certain 
^'Aunt Katy^' — an aged negress, whose heart and hut, 
and such fare as her scanty larder contained, were 
always at the disposal of the distressed. Hearing that 
the strangers were Union soldiers who had escaped 
from Columbia, she approached them with the follow- 
ing salutation : "Gor Almighty bressyer, marsters; dis 
is de yeah ob jubilee, shua, when de Yankees come to 
Aunt Katy's. Come in, marsters, come in ! " 

Accordingly they entered, and, by some occult pro- 
cess, the fact of their presence soon became known to 
the entire slave population of the neighborhood, who 
came flocking in throughout the day. Such an im- 
portant occasion would have been incomplete without 
a prayer-meeting. Aunt Katy herself being a pillar of 
the Colored Methodist Church, and it was not long 
before the whole assemblage were on their knees, in- 
voking every imaginable blessing upon the cause of 
the Union and its defenders, and every evil upon its 
opponents. Among other things Captain Glazier re- 
cords, as a feature of this impromptu prayer-meeting, 
is the petition of a venerable prototype of "Uncle 



232 SWOI- AND PEN. 

Tom/' named Zebulon, ^' who appeared to be a ruling 
spirit in the j)arty." This good man's enthusiasm 
burst forth as follows: 

*'0h Lor' Gor A'mighty! We'se you-ah chillen as 
much as de white folks atn, and we spec yo to.heah us 
widout delay, Lor' ; cause we all is in right smart ob a 
hurry. Dese yere gem men has runned away from de 
Seceshers, and wants ter git back to de Norf ! Dey 
has no time to wait! Ef it's 'cordin' to de des'nation 
of great heben to help 'em et'll be 'bout necessary for 
dat ar help to come soon. 

" De hounds and de rebels is on dar track. Take 
de smell out of de dogs' noses, O Lor' ! and let 'Gyp- 
shun darkness come downi ober de eyesights of de 
rebels. Comfoozle 'em, O Lor' ! dey is cruel, and 
makes haste to shed blood. Dey has long 'pressed de 
black man, and groun' him in de dust, and now I 
reck'n dey 'spects dat dey am agwine to serve de. 
Yankees in de same way. 

"'Sist dese gcmmen in time ob trouble, and lift 'era 
fru all danger on to de udder side ob Jordan dry-shod. 

"And raise de radiance ob your face on all de Yan- 
kees wdiat's shut up in de Souf. Send some Moses, O 
Lor' ! to guide 'em frue de Red Sea ob 'flickshun into 
de promised land. 

"Send Mr. Sherman's company sweepin' down frue 
dese yere parts to scare de rebels till dey flee like de 
Midians, and slew darselves to sabe dar lives. 

"Let a little de best of heben's best judgments res* 
on Massa Lincum, and may de year ob Jubilee come 
sure. 

"O Lor'! bless de gin'rals ob de Norf — O Lor'! 
bless de kunnels — Lor' ! bless de brigerdeers — O 



NEGRO FIDELITY, 233 

Lor' ! bless de capt'ins — O Lor' ! bless de Yankees 
right smart. O Lor' ! eberlastin'. Amen." 

This very pertinent supplication and much more in 
the same vein, was listened to with marked approval 
by the audience — a sonorous and prolonged "Amen I " 
in which our friends heartily participated, greeting the 
conclusion of Uncle Zeb's prayer. Our subject, in de- 
scribing the particulars of his escape, remarks that, 
notwithstanding the fact that the secret of their retreat 
was known to some thirty or forty of these poor slaves, 
neither he nor his companion entertained the shadow 
of a doubt that the secret would be safe with th^m ; 
and adds that, in addition to their good faith, they 
possessed a remarkable taknt for concealment. 

The Steadman plantation was only three miles 
from Aunt Katy's hut, and accordingly, Ben being 
sent for, soon made his appearance, and proffered his 
valuable services as guide. The offer was thankfully 
accepted ; but, despite the preference of Glazier and his 
companion for tho swamp as the safest place of con- 
cealment, Ben prevailed ujion them to visit his cabin, 
where they were hospitably entertained by his wife and 
children. Having been duly inspected as curiosities 
"from de Norf," our friends were pleased to hear Ben 
instruct his little daughter to run up to the house of 
his mistress and "snatch a paper." She soon afterward 
came running back with the Augusta Constitutionalist, 
published that morning. 

Having gathered from the newspaper a sufficiently 
intelligible idea of the relative position of Sherman 
and his opponents, the fugitives bade farewell to the 
family, and proceeded upon their way, crossing the 
river by ten o'clock ; and shortly after— Ben having 
18 



234 SWORD AND PEN. 

parted from them — in consequence of the complicated 
directions of numerous hlmd-roctdSy became confused, 
and, instead of pushing forward beyond tl)e South 
Edisto, as they had planned to do, they halted early 
in the afternoon and "pitched their tent" for the 
remainder of the day and night — said ient\\Vk\mg the 
sky for its roof as usual. 

Their camping-ground upon this occasion was in the 
heart of a dense pine wood, where, notwithstanding the 
grim and spectral surroundings, they slept soundly 
until after midnight, and then arose refreshed and 
ready for another day's march on the road to free- 
dom. Hoe-eake and pinders (anglicl, peanuts) formed 
their only repast, which they found sufficiently luxurious 
under the circumstances. 

It now became necessary to find their bearings. 
There was no star plainly visible, and they had not 
yet learned to take the moon as a guide. Moreover, 
the heavenly bodies in Southern latitudes have so dif- 
ferent an appearance from those seen at the North, 
that they were frequently in doubt as to the points of 
the compass. " I remember,'' writes Captain Glazier, 
" that it caused me great grief to find that the North 
Star was much nearer the horizon, and seemed to have 
lost that prominence which is given to it in higher 
latitudes, where it is a guide, standing far above tree- 
top and mountain." 

What the lofty stars failed to teach, however, they 
learned from humbler signs. Glazier, in his youth, 
acquired the lesson in woodcraft, that moss hangs 
heaviest upon the northern side of tree trunks; and 
then the streams in this part of the continent, for the 
most part, flow towards the southeast, so that our 



CROSSING THE EDISTOS. 235 

friends were not altogether without indications of their 
position with regard to the points of the compass. 

They were greatly annoyed by a serious obstacle to 
their safe progress, which presented itself in the shape 
of a vast multitude of dogs, of all sizes and every 
variety of breed. There were dogs of high degree, 
dogs of low degree, and mongrel curs of no degree ; 
and all these animals were in possession of one ambi- 
tion in common, namely, to nose out and hunt a 
Yankee ! 

Consequently, from the deep-mouthed baying of the 
blood-hound, or the mastiff, to the sniff and snarl of 
the rat-terrier, their music was not agreeable to the 
fugitives, who had, however, to contend with this 
difficulty, and surmount it. 

Confining themselves to the pathless forest, the roads 
were now frequently lost sight of for miles. Occasion- 
ally, in the effort to shun the high-road, they would 
come suddenly upon a dwelling, and the inevitable 
lank, yellow dog would pounce out upon them, and 
add wings to their feet. 

It was always a pleasant interruption of their lonely 
tramp to meet any negroes. These people, so patient 
under oppression, so humble under correction, were 
ever faithful and devoted to those whom they believed 
to be the friends of their race. Our hero, of course, 
had rare opportunities of observing the characteristics 
of this people. Simple, harmless and gentle, crimes 
of violence among them were very rare, and the cruel- 
ties practised upon them seem rather to have opened 
their hearts to sympathy than to have hardened them 
into vindictiveness. 

With the aid of many of these devoted people, 



236 SWORD AND PEN. 

Glazier and his friend reached and crossed the North 
Edisto, the latter a task of some magnitude. The 
river, at the point where they reached it, is not a single 
stream, but a maze of creeks and bayous, all of which 
it was necessary to cross in order to attain the opposite 
bank of what is known as the South Edisto River. 

While passing over a bridge that spanned one of the 
creeks, Glazier heard footsteps upon another bridge in 
their rear ; and so trained and acute does the ear of 
man become when disciplined in such a school of peril- 
ous experiences, that he knew at once they had nothing 
to fear from those who followed ; for, instead of the 
bold, firm tread of the man who hunts, it was the 
uncertain, hesitating, half-halting step of the hunted. 

^'Escaped prisoners," whispered our two friends 
simultaneously, and Glazier, stepping boldly forth, 
gave the challenge, ^' Who goes there!" 

" With a trembling start," says our fugitive hero, 
^'the foremost man replied, ^Friends! ^ 

*' ' Halt, friends ! and advance one,' '^ commanded 
Lieutenant Glazier. 

Very cautiously, and with the manner of one ready 
to turn at any moment and dash into the recesses of 
the swamp, one of the strangers came forward to within 
a few feet of his interrogator, and craning his body 
over, peered nervously into his face. Thereupon a 
mutual recogni'tion as Federals was the result, and 
Lemon discovered that one of the newcomers had been 
a fellow-prisoner with himself. This made matters 
pleasant, and although it was mutually agreed that it 
would be wise to separate, and take different routes, both 
parties unconsciously protracted the meeting until they 
were startled into caution by perceiving almost directly 



A SCARE, 237 

in front of them, surrounding a large fire, a Confed- 
erate encampment. " It proved to be a squad of tax- 
gatherers, going about the country with quartermasters' 
wagons, collecting supplies." 

Further progress was now impossible. The enemy 
occupied the only practicable road in front, and they 
were flanked on both sides by large ponds of water. 
Our party thereupon stealthily retreated into the woods, 
where they finally concluded to make themselves con- 
tented for the remainder of the night. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

PROGRESS OF THE FUGITIVES. 

Parting company. — Thirst and no water. — Hoping for the end.— 
The boy and tlie chicken. — Conversation of ladies overheard. — The 
fugitives pursued. — The sleeping village. — Captain Bryant. — The 
alba 8U8. — Justifiable murder, and a delicious meal. — Darkies 
and their prayers. — Man proposes; God disposes. — An adventure. 
— A ruse de guerre. — Across the Savannah. 

ON emerging from their place of concealment, the 
following morning, the road proved to be once 
more open. The tax-collectors had departed. Warned 
by the experience of the previous night the newly 
found friends reluctantly parted company. Glazier and 
Lemon pursuing a separate route from the others. 

Our friends had suffered much in various ways since 
they shook the dust of Columbia from their feet, 
but now a dire misfortune overtook them in the total 
absence of water. The waters of the swamps were 
poisonous, and their longing desire and hope was that 
they might soon come upon a spring or stream to slake 
their burning thirst, which threatened to unfit them for 
the exertion necessary. 

The land, in the region of country they had now 
entered, was waste and arid — for the most part sand, 
a few stunted trees being the sole vegetation. These 
trees had nothing pleasant in their appearance, as forest 
trees usually have. The branches seemed destitute of sap, 
as the leaves were of verdure ; they had not reached 
(238) 



THE BOY AND THE CHICKEN. 239 

maturity, and yet possessed none of the lithe grace of 
saplings. 

Our fugitives were parched, fevered, and weak 
before they emerged from this inhospitable tract of 
country, but at length reached a point where the vege- 
tation was fresher, and finally, to their great joy, discov- 
ered a spring. Here, to use Glazier's own words, they 
realized " the value of cold water to a thirsty soul.'* 
*^ The stream ran through a ravine nearly a hundred 
feet in depth, while high up on the banks were groves 
of pines." 

After their passagethrough the "Desert," they were 
in excellent condition to appreciate the wild and sol- 
emn grandeur of the sjiot they had now reached, and 
for a considerable time they could not make up their 
minds to leave the place. At length, however, they 
resumed their journey. December second found the 
two friends still far from their destination, and by no 
means out of danger. It was one week only since they 
bade adieu to Columbia, and yet many weeks seemed 
to them to have passed. Still they were making con- 
siderable progress, and had by this time reached a 
swamp near Aiken, South Carolina. 

Having journeyed all night since quitting the 
secluded ravine, they were ready once more to cast 
themselves upon the soft moss under a venerable tree, 
near which was a gurgling spring. Plere they slept 
soundly until dawn^ when a colored boy passing down a 
road which came within their range of vision attracted 
attention. The boy was carrying a basket, and they 
were suffering very seriously again from hunger. 
Lemon followed, and called to him: "Plold on, my 
boy ; I want to see you ! " The lad muttered some- 



^40 SWORD AND PEN. 

thing, but the only word they could distinguish was 
" chicken !'' He then ran off as fast as his less would 
carry him. The lieutenant, with great emphasis, 
endeavored to reassure him, but it was of no use. He 
ran as if a legion of evil spirits was at his heels, and 
Lemon returned to his comrade very much disappointed 
and chagrined. '' Now they are sure to overtake us," 
said he, ^'we shall be prisoners again before night!" 

''Never fear," was the reply of his cooler com- 
panion; "as long as there is a swamp in the neighbor- 
hood, we'll lead them a lively dance." 

So the friends gathered up their belongings, and in 
a few minutes put a considerable distance between 
themselves and their resting-place of the previous night. 
Finally they concealed themselves in a swamp about a 
mile distant. A road bordered the margin of their 
sanctuary so closely, that they distinctly overheard a 
conversation between three ladies who passed. The 
chasing of a negro boy by a Yankee was the topic of 
their discourse. 

Tliis information made our friends more cautious, 
and it is well they were so, for, towards evening, 
several mounted men armed with guns were seen by 
them upon the main road leading to Aiken ; their evi- 
dent purpose being to intercept the fugitives, of whose 
presence in their neighborhood the boy had made 
rej)ort. 

Forewarned was forearmed, and our hero and his 
companion determined to give the enemy a wide berth. 
Again, therefore, plunging into the recesses of a 
neighboring swamp, they went quietly to sleep, and 
slept until midnight, when Glazier awoke to see 
thousands of stars glittering through the s^iectral 



A SLEEPING VILLAGE, 241 

branches of the pines, and away off toward the western 
horizon, a flood of silvery effulgence from the waning 
moon. 

Entranced by the beauty of the scene, he awoke his 
comrade, and all around being buried in profound 
silence, they proceeded on their way. It was not long 
before they found themselves upon the outskirts of the 
village of Aiken, and no practicable path upon either 
side presenting itself, but one resource remained, namely, 
to steal cautiously through, although this involved the 
imminent risk of discovery. On, tlierefore, they walked 
until they came to the border of the village. They 
found it dumb with sleep. Not a sound disturbed the 
silence. The very dogs, their usually sleepless foes, 
appeared for once to have become wearied and* gone 
to rest. 

There is something solemn about a sleeping town. 
The solitude of the swamp and wood is solemn ; but 
the ghostly stillness of a town, where all its inhabi- 
tants lie buried in sleep, and no sign or sound pro- 
claims the presence of life in man or beast, is of so 
weird a character as to produce a sensation of awe, akin 
to fear. The shadows that enwrapped them as they 
came beneath the buildings, and the fitful gleams of 
moonlight that fell upon them when streets were crossed, 
seemed not lights and shadows at all, but strange, in- 
tangible things. And when at length they reached 
the outer limit of the village, and the distant woods were 
seen by the moon's rays, our travellers felt as if they 
had been wandering in a graveyard, where the tombs 
were houses, and they wished they were in the swamp 
again, where such uncanny fancies never troubled thera. 
When the toad and lizard, snakes and other loathsome 



242 SWORD AND DEN. 

things, crawled around their swampy bed, tliey cared 
nothing; but the dead silence of a cloudless night, 
broodinf]^ over a swarm of their fellow-beino^s, brouofht 
with it a feeling they could not account for or under- 
stand ; and therefore it was with a sense of great relief 
they found themselves at the outer edge of the town. 

Their satisfaction, however, was somewhat moderated 
when, at a sudden turn of the road, they abruptly came 
upon a man and a boy, who were picking their way 
with such velvety tread that the two parties were face 
to face before either was aware of the proximity of the 
other. The strangers appeared to be the more alarmed, 
for they were just making a secret and rapid detour 
with the view of debouching into a side street, when, 
feeliiTg sure that none but fugitives would be so anxious 
to escape an interview. Glazier hailed them : 

^' Don't be uneasy, boys! We're friends! We're 
Yankees!" 

His conjecture proved correct. The strangers were 
Captain Bryant, of the Fifth New York Cavalry, and 
a friend. ^'They had," says Captain Glazier, '^a negro 
guide, who was to secrete them in a hut until the next 
night, when they were to proceed, as we had done, and 
reach the line of freedom by the nearest route." 

The interview was brief, the parties differing as to 
which was the most expedient route, and the discussion 
terminated by each taking the one lie thought best. 
Glazier and his comrade made off to a swamp, and 
upon securing a safe resting-place, were overjoyed to 
find a venerable sow and her litter approaching. They 
greeted the porcine mother, says our friend, " other- 
wise than did wandering ^lilncas the alba sus lying 
under the hollow trees of ancient Italy," for, "enticing 



"HELLO, SAMBO!'' 243 

them with crumbs of hoe-cake/^ they both in unison 
struck a juvenile porker on the head with a heavy cane, 
and then Uncle Zeb's mammoth knife came into re- 
quisition, and did good service. Over the embers of a 
fire kindled in a hole in the ground, they roasted the 
little fellow, and made a delicious meal. 

They had scarcely finished their unexpected feast, 
when again the thud of an axe in the distance smote 
on tlieir ears, and Glazier crept cautiously out to re- 
connoitre. The wood-cutter proved to be a colored lad, 
and having a vivid recollection of their scampering 
friend of " chicken '' fame, he hailed him in this wise : 
^' Hello, Sambo!'' 

This manner of salute left the party addressed in 
doubt as to the colors under which the young white 
stranger served. Off went his hat, therefore, and he 
stood grinning and waiting to hear more. Our hero 
walked quickly up to him, and frankly explained the 
situation, concluding, as usual, with a request for infor- 
mation and aid. Both were promptly tendered, and 
shortly after, the fugitives were concealed in a corn- 
fodder house. Here, in the evening, a motley and 
humorous delegation of darkies waited upon them and 
after ventilating their sage opinions upon the conduct 
of the war, organized a prayer-meeting; and, if the 
fervor of human prayer availeth, they doubtless dam- 
aged the cause of Secession materially that evening. 

The topographical knowledge of these well-meaning 
friends appears to have been at fault, for had Glazier 
followed the route they advised, instead of striking the 
railroad running from Charleston to Augusta, on the 
west side of Aiken, which would have enabled them, 
by pursuing it to the westward, to reach Augusta, they 



244 SWORD AND PEN. 

struck it on the east side, and consequently by mistake 
followed it towards Charleston, precisely the place to 
which they did not want to go. 

" How far is it, my boy, by this road, to Drain- 
side?" asked a mud-splashed traveler of a sh'^ewd lad 
by the roadside. 

" If you keep on the way you are heading, and can 
manage the Atlantic and Pacific on horseback," re- 
plied the boy, " it is 23,999 miles. If you turn your 
horse's head and go right back, it is one mile." 

Our friends were in a somewhat similar condition. 
Soon, however, in the darkness, they came to a small 
village, where a freight train was in waiting for an 
early start. They tried to conceal themselves on 
board this train, but very fortunately for their safety 
they could not find a hiding-place in or under the cars, 
and shortly afterwards discovered that Charleston was 
its destination and not Augusta. Had they boarded 
this train they would certainly have been recaptured in 
Charleston and sent back to imprisonment. *'A mer- 
ciful Providence interposed," Glazier writes. ''Thus 
'man proposes,' often to his own ruin, but 'God dis- 
poses,' always to His own glory, and the good of his 
creatures." 

A blood-hound was on their track in the course of 
the night, the deep hayings being plainly audible, but 
his scent being at fault, the trail of the fugitives was 
lost, and he shortly barked himself out of hearing. 

When daybreak came and a passenger train filled 
with rebel soldiers and recruits swe})t past them, setting 
up a savage yell at sight of the pedestrians, it was 
feared by the latter that the train might be stopped 
with a view to their capture, so they once more concealed 
themselves in the wood. 



RETRACING THEIR STEPS. 245 

The sound of heavy cannonading reassured them as 
to the proximity of Federal troops ; but, where was 
Augusta? Accurate information on this point was ab- 
solutely essential before further progress was made; 
and Lemon was commissioned to obtain it. He was 
so far successful that he learned from some negro 
wood-choppers — much to the chagrin of both — that 
they had been walking all night in the opposite direc- 
tion from Augusta, that is, on the direct road to 
Charleston ! They also learned, what was much more 
cheering, that they could cross the Savannah River, at 
a point twenty miles below Augusta, at Point Comfort; 
that Sherman was making straight for Savannah, and 
therefore their chances of ultimately falling in with 
his army were by no means impaired. 

No time was lost in moving forward in the direction 
indicated, and during the night our hero met with an 
adventure which we cannot do better than relate in 
his own words ; he says : " We came to a fork in the 
road, and after debating some time as to which course 
we should pursue, I leaped over the fence and made 
for a negro hut, while several hounds from the planta- 
tion house followed hard on my track. I managed, 
by some tall running, to come in a few feet ahead, and 
bolted into the shanty without warning or formality, 
slamming the door behind me to keep out the dogs. 
A great stupid negro was standing before the fire, his 
hands and face buried in fresh pork and hoe-cake, 
which he was making poor work at eating. His broad, 
fat countenance glistened with an unguent distilled 
partly from within and partly from without. Turn- 
ing my eyes from the negro to the untidy hearth, they 
were greeted, as were also my olfactories, with a skillet 
of pork frying over the coals. 



246 SWORD AND PEN. 

'^ Without troubling him to answer any questions, I 
opened the mouth of my haversack and poured into it 
the dripping contents of the skillet. I next observed 
that the ashes on the hearth had a suspiciously fat 
appearance, and, taking the tongs, began raking among 
them. My suspicions were verified, for two plump- 
looking hoe-cakes came to light, which were also 
deposited in the haversack. 

"Looking around still farther I saw what I had 
not observed before, Dinah's black head, as she peered 
out from among the bed-clothes, rolling two of the 
most astonished white eyes that ever asked the ques- 
tion, ^What's you g'wine to do next?^ Not seeing 
any practical way in which I could answer her mute 
question, I said to Sambo, ^ Call the dogs into the 
house.' This he did hastily. I then asked, ^ Uncle, 
what road must this rebel take for Tinker Creek?' 
* De right han' one, out dar', I reckon,' he answered. 
Again bidding him keep the hounds in the house till 
morning, I rushed out to the road and joined my com- 
panion. We made lively tracks for about three miles, 
after which we took it more leisurely, stopping to rest 
and refresh ourselves at every stream that crossed the 
road." 

The winter was by this time fairly upon them, and 
sleeping in the open air by no means a pleasant expe- 
rience. They therefore made long marches, and by 
the aid of an occasional friendly push from their negro 
allies at length arrived in the vicinity of Point Com- 
fort. This was on the seventh of December, and the 
twelfth day of their pilgrimage. After being some- 
what alarmed by the proximity of a pack of dogs, with 
which some boys were hunting, they escaped discovery, 



CROSSING THE SAVANNAH. 247 

and securinpj another negro for a guide they on the 
same night found themselves upon the banks of the 
Savannah River. 

A colored man's cabin, as usual, sheltered them during 
the day, and their host and his dusky neighbors (many 
of whom flocked around to see the Yankees, as was 
their custom) proving to be fishermen well acquainted 
with the river, our friends prevailed upon one of their 
number to undertake the task of carrying them across. 
The first difficulty that presented itself was, where to 
find a boat; but their host remembered, he said, a 
place upon one oi the tributaries of the Savannah 
where one lay, not exactly in ^ood sailing trim it is 
true, for the nuthorities had ordered the destruction of 
boats along all the streams where escaped prisoners 
were likely to seek a passage, and this craft had not 
escaped their vigilance ; bu'^ he thought, by the liberal 
use of pitch and cotton, materials easily obtainable in 
that neigliborhood, it could be made sufficiently water- 
tight to answer tiieir purpose. Accordingly, accom- 
panied by their friendly Charon, with his pitch-pot and 
cotton, they reached the spot indicated and found the 
boat. 

It was in a very dilapidated state, but *^all night 
long the faithful fellow worked, caulking and pitch- 
ing/' while the fugitives ^' lay concealed in an old 
hollow beech log." 

It was midnight before he had finished his task, and 
launched the boat into the stream. She looked very 
shaky, but the extemporized shipwright reassured them 
by saying confidently : 

"She's ready, massa. I'll soon land you in 
Georgey." 
19 



248 SWORD AND PEN, 

They were scarcely, however, in the boat before she 
commenced to leak ; there was no help for it, so our 
adventurers betook themselves to bailing the water 
out as fast as it entered, and the zealous negro pulled 
away with all his might. They kept her afloat until 
within a short distance of the wished-for shore, and then, 
seeing that if they did not quit her she would certainly 
quit them, the two passengers leaped out, and managed 
with some difficulty to ascend the beach. 



CHAPTER XXIIl. 

THE PERILS OF AN ESCAPE. 

Alligators.— A detachment of Southern chivalry.— A scare.— Re- 
pairs neatly executed.— Misery and despair.— Virtue its own 
reward.— Hunger and desperation.— Audacity.— A Confederate 
officer.— "A good Union man."—" Two sights and a jambye."— 
A narrow escape. 

CAPTAIN GLAZIER and bis companion were 
not insensible to the clanger they incurred of 
being drawn under the water by an alligator; animals 
they knew to be numerous and voracious in that river, 
and were therefore not slow in quitting its banks. So, 
bidding a hearty good-bye to their humble companion, 
who was already busy re-caulking his boat for the 
home voyage, they once more plunged into the recesses 
of the swamps, intending to push forward as far as 
possible before the morning dawned. 

They wended their way through a Southern cypress 
swamp. Some distance back from the river they could 
perceive a large plantation-house, with its out-buildings 
and accessories, protected by groups of oak and beech ; 
but they dared not ap})roach it. Under the far-reach- 
ing and sheltering cypress they pursued their way. 

The cypress here attains considerable height, the 
branches issuing from a trunk formed like a cone; but 
occasionally they are to be seen of very stunted growth. 
Around the full-sized tree are frequently to be found 
a whole family of dwarfs, nature having arrested their 

(249) 



250 SWORD AND DEN. 

growth when from one to ten feet high. These would 
present an unsightly look, were it not for the mantle 
of Spanish moss that envt'Io[)S, and gives them a 
graceful and picturesque appearance. 

Large alligators lay along the bayous, and on every 
prostrate log, watching the movements of Glazier and 
his companion. ^^ They were," he says, ** apparently 
pleased at our misfortunes, and sent towards us loving, 
hungry glances." As soon as approached, these "war- 
dens of the marshes " would hobble to the edge of a 
bayou, and allow themselves to fall in; their eyes 
remaining above water blinking at the invaders, as if 
inviting them to follow. They were probably, as 
Glazier observes, *^a detachment of Southern chivalry 
doing duty on their own grounds." 

Finally, emerging from the swamp they entered a 
corn-field, and discovered a delicious spring; and not 
far off, a friendly negro. They arranged to meet him 
here at eight o'clock, at which hour he returned and 
piloted them to some of his friends a short distance off. 
They were several times upon the point of being dis- 
covered — once by a planter, and again by a number of 
white children, who, attended by their nurse, and a 
j)a('k of curs, approached within a few feet of their 
hiding-})lace. Our friends gradually edged themselves 
towards a thicket, which was distant about four miles 
from Briar Creek, the latter being eighteen miles from 
Milieu — the junction of the Augusta branch and the 
main line of the Central Railway of Georgia. 

At this thicket, feeling very weary, our fugitives 
threw themselves on the ground, and were soon asleep. 
Nothing occurred to disturb their slumber; but, on 
awaking, their coDsternatiou was great to find them- 



NEARING THE UNIQN LINES. 251 

selves guarded by sentinels ! Four large hounds stood 
looking down at them with an air of responsibility for. 
their safe-keeping; snuffing occasionally at their persons 
to discover, probably, .^f they had the scent of game. 
This indicated an alarming condition of things. Ana 
the fear fell upon them that the owner of the hounds 
had discovered them while they slept, and they were 
again prisoners. But their alarm soon subsided. No 
human being appeared ; and the dogs seemed to con- 
sider their responsibility at an end, now that the slum- 
berers were awake ; and walking around them in the 
most natural manner, with much show of dignity, 
trooped away without even a parting salute, but greatly 
to the relief of our alarmed friends. They were soon 
after confronted by another source of aff'right. This 
was the approach of a large cavalry patrol, which came 
so near their place of concealment, that they were com- 
pelled to forego a fire, cold as it was, and eat their 
sweet potatoes raw — the only rations left them. They 
however escaped observation. 

They knew nothing of the whereabouts of General 
Sherman; but certain unmistakable indications satisfied 
them that they were now approaching the scene of mil- 
itary operations. Bridges destroyed, while others were 
under the guard of bodies of soldiers; large herds of 
stock driven by the planters themselves to the recesses 
of the swamps and forests for protection ; the hurrying 
across country of men on horseback and afoot, and the 
general appearance of excitement and unrest that pre- 
vailed around them, convinced Glazier and his compan- 
ion that the formidable Sherman was not very distant. 

It was hard to be deprived of the comfort of a fire 
at such an inclement season, for the weather had 



252 SWCRD ASD PEN. 

become intensely cold, and rain fell incessantly. A 
merciful Providence, however, directed their steps 
towards a spot where an aged negro was cutting wood 
and warming himself at a fire by turns, and they were 
thus enabled to thaw their frozen garments and gather 
some warmth in their numbed limbs. With the aid of 
the old negro, they improvised a rude tent by means 
of their blankets, and on leaving for his supper, he 
promised to return in the evening with some hoe-cakes. 
This ]>romise he faithfully fulfilled, and remained to 
cobble Glazier's shoes into a condition of comparative 
comfort. During the day the shoes had threatened to 
part company with their owner and leave him barefoot. 

The aforesaid shoes having been subjected to the 
process of repair, our hero at first demurred to their 
liberal dimensions, but learned, partly from the cobbler 
and partly from experience, that as the 'possum skin 
(which formed the uppers) began to dry, it acquired 
the hardness and durability of horn; and hence, extra 
space became necessary. The shoes lasted him till 
the end of his adventures, and are still preserved as a 
memento of auld lang syne. 

The following day was passed in the swamp, a 
wretched, dispiriting, drizzling rain, falling from morn 
till night, bringing the temperature down to zero. They 
recommenced their journey at dark despite the weather; 
preferring to push ahead rather than seek shelter again, 
with their friends, and so delay their progress. Thus they 
tramped wearily along, until the small town of Alex- 
ander was reached, and by this time their condition had 
become so desperate, that they knocked at the first cabin 
they came to. A white woman, in reply to their inquiry, 
as to which was the road to Millen, said ^'she did not 



COLD, BU^^GRY AND SHELTERLESS. 253 

know." And now, for the first time since their escape 
from Columbia, a feeling of despair took possession 
of them. They were cold, hungry, worn out, nearly 
naked, and shelterless, and such was their misery and 
despair, that had they not suddenly stumbled upon a 
large frame building used by negro laborers on the 
railroad, they would have been recaptured from utter 
powerlessness to seek concealment, or have fallen by the 
wayside and died. 

Here, however, they met with a generous reception, 
and obtained the information they sought. After 
exchanging some kind words with these humble people, 
who heartily sympathized with them. Glazier and his 
comrade proceeded on their way. 

Evervthing went well until they unexpectedly 
came to the banks of a considerable stream, and, 
after a careful search, failed to discover any practi- 
cable means of crossing it, except by fording. The 
fact of its being fordable gave rise to an incident with 
a moral, and as the gallant captain relates the story we 
will quote his own words: 

"Sitting,'' he writes, " on a log, and ruminating over 
our chances, a very selfish piece of strategy suggested 
itself. Accordingly, T said to Lemon, ^ There is no use 
of both getting wet ; we can carry each other over these 
streams. If you will carry me over this, I will carry you 
over the nextV I said, ' these streams,' although only one 
was before us, and the most prominent thought in my 
mind was that, in all probability, there would be no other. 
" Lemon somehow failed to see the point, and con- 
sented. Accordingly, taking off our shoes, I mounted 
on the lieutenant's shoulders, as school-boys sometimes 
carry each other, and he staggered through the stream 



254 SWORD AND PEN. 

with me, doing no worse than wetting ray feet. This 
worked well. I congratulated myself, and gave a gen- 
erous sympathy to Lemon in his shiverings. The 
chances were ten to one, I thought, that the carrying 
business was at an end, when suddenly another stream, 
wider than the first, rose up in the darkness before us. 
There was no use in wincing, and I stripped for the task. 
The lieutenant ascended to the position he had fairly 
earned. I plunged into the water. The middle of the 
stream was reached in safety, when, through no fault 
of mine, either the water became too deep, or my back 
became too weak for the burden, and the consequence 
was, the worthy gentleman was nearly as well soaked 
as myself when we reached the opposite shore. Selfish- 
ness, as well as virtue, sometimes brings its own 
reward.'^ 

They crossed three other streams during the night, 
but, by mutual consent, the carrying contract was can- 
celed, and each did his own wading. " Thus," adds 
the captain, "another grand scheme for human eleva- 
tion fell to the ground ! '^ 

Weary and wet to the skin, they persevered in their 
onward course, until they reached another cypress 
swamp, and discovered a road through it, which had 
evidently been the scene of a recently fought battle. 
Fences and buildings were razed to the ground, while 
fragments of military equipments were scattered about 
profusely — broken muskets, spent cartridges, and dead 
cattle; all told the story of a late conflict. 

Our fugitives had no means of learning at the time 
any particulars of the supposed fight, but were after- 
ward informed that less than a week previous to their 
being on the spot, General Kilpatrick^s cavalry and 



HOPJi: REVIVES. 255 

the Seventeenth Army Corps had swept like an 
avalanche along that road. 

The temperature by this time had somewhat mod- 
erated, and Glazier and his companion, thinking it 
unlikely the road would be much used for a time, con- 
cluded that they might with safety lie down and ob- 
tain some necessary rest and sleep. In their exhausted 
condition, they slept through the day and the greater 
part of the following night, arousing themselves with 
difficulty for the work still before them. 

Judging from the fact that many of the dead horses 
seen on the road bore the brand of the *' United 
States," and from other indications, they arrived at the 
conclusion that the Union forces were not very dis- 
tant, and that they themselves were now possibly in 
the wake of Sherman's army. This being the case, 
the hope revived in their breasts of soon joining their 
friends— unless they had the misfortune to be picked 
up by the enemy's scouts. Hence, having lost so much 
of the night, they decided to travel this time by day, 
and at once put their determination into practice. 
Glazier and his friend soon discovered, however, that 
they were not expedited in their journey to any great 
extent— the streams being greatly swollen by the recent 
rains, formed a serious obstacle to their further pro 
greps. 

They also felt that traveling by daylight was at- 
tended with much hazard to their safety. One advan- 
tage of journeying through a part of the country lately 
traversed by an invading army, was found in the ftict 
of there being much smouldering fire along their line 
of march, and thus our friends ran no risk of attracting 
attention by approaching these fires at their several 



256 SWOED AND PEN. 

halting-places. This circumstance afforded one element 
of comfort — warmth. But another, still more impor- 
tant, was lacking, namely — food. 

They had traveled the entire day without meeting a 
single negro, and hence, their commissariat was non est, 
and gaunt hunger created in them a sense of despera- 
tion. In this state they reached, after sunset, a plan- 
tation, where no house appeared but a number of 
humble shanties ; and, weary, starving and desperate, 
they boldly advanced to the door of the best-looking 
cabin, and knocked for admission. 

" Who^s thar?" was answered in a tone, common to 
the poor whites and blacks of that section, that afforded 
no indication of the color of the speaker. That, how- 
ever, was the first thing to determine before proceeding 
further. So our hero replied, interrogatively: "Are 
you black or white in there? ^^ " Thar aint no niggahs 
heah," was the response, and the indignant tone of its 
delivery placed it beyond doubt that they had fallen 
upon a family of "poor whites.'^ Glazier thereupon 
changed his voice to that of the "high-toned" rebel, 
and asked why he kept an officer of the Confederate 
army waiting for admittance. The man reluctantly 
opened the door, and the soi-disant Confederate de- 
manded in an imperious tone, " How long is it since 
our army passed here ? " 

" What army ? " was the cautious query, before an 
answer was vouchsafed. 

" Why the rebel army, of course ! " 

The man hereupon stated that Wheeler's cavalry 
had passed by a week before, following Sherman's rear 
guard. 

" How far is it to General Wheeler's headquarters?" 
asked Lieutenant Glazier, 



A ''BEESWAXERr 257 

'' I diin'no ! " growled the other ; " but I guess it's a 
right smart distance." 

To other questions, as to the possibility of obtaining 
oile or more horses and mules, and even a suggestion 
that something to eat would not be unwelcome, the 

fellow protested that the Yankees had stripped 

the country of everything, and left them neither horses, 
mules, nor anything to eat. Through the intervention 
of his wife, however, Glazier finally obtained some 
bread and sweet potatoes ; and, delivering a lecture to 
him upon the gross ingratitude of treating in such a 
niggardly manner a soldier who had left a home of 
opulence and comfort, to battle for kis rights and 
liberties, with much more of a similar audacious char- 
acter, he left the house. 

Time, however, was too precious to be wasted, and, 
at the conclusion of the meal, they hurriedly resumed 
their march. 

A solitary planter passed them, returning their care- 
fully-worded salutation, and, evidently mistaking them 
for Confederates, volunteered the informati(m that 
"our cavalry '^ — meaning Wheeler's, had passed that 
point last Tuesday. He was barely out of view, when 
they overtook a couple of negroes going to their work; 
and of them Glazier inquired the distance to the nearest 
plantation, receiving for answer, "Jess a mile, massa." 
"Are there any white folks there?" asked our hero. 
"Narry one, massa," was the reply; adding, " Dat ar 
planter is what dey call a Beeswaxer" — meaning a 
Bushwacker, "and Massa Sherman took dem all orf" 
Not wishing to commit themselves by imprudently 
revealing their true character. Glazier asked them in- 
differently, if they had seen any of Wheeler's cavalry 



258 SWOED AND PEN. 

lately. To wliicli one of them responded, ''Dar's 
right smart of dem down at Mars' Brown's, free mile 
from de swamp, and dey's hazin' de country all 
'round.'' 

Til is intelligence was not encouraging, but our 
friends thought it the wiser course to proceed at once 
to the plantation the negro had described. They soon 
reached the place, and, finding that the dwelling of the 
owner was closed, they, without delay, advanced to the 
nearest of the smaller tenements, such as were usually 
occupied by slaves. 

Glazier did not pause to knock at the door, but 
boldly raised the latch and entered. He expected to 
see the usual negro auntie with her brood of picka- 
ninnies, or to meet the friendly glance of one of the 
males, and therefore walked in very confidently, and 
with a pleasant smile. This, however, soon changed 
to a look of amazement, when he found himself face to 
face with a Confederate officer in full uniform. Quick 
as lightning, our hero determined upon his course. 

"Ah, sir!" he exclaimed, with all the coolness he 
could assume, " I perceive we are in the same service. 
I can only hope you have not been so unfortunate as 
myself." 

*^How unfortunate may you have been, sir?" the 
vis a vis inquired. 

"Why, at the late cavalry fight at ^yaynesboro', I 
lost my horse, having him shot under me. I have 
not had the good fortune to obtain another, and the 
consequence is, that I have been compelled to walk the 
whole distance to this point." 

" I reckon, then, stranger, our cases are not alto- 
gether dissimilar," the Confederate rejoined; "I had 
my horse killed there, too, but luckily got a mule." 



GLAZIER PLAYING REBEL. 259 

In anticipation of an inquiry which, if addressed to 
himself, might lead to unpleasant complications. Gla- 
zier now asked: "What command he was attached 
to?" "Forty-third Alabama Mounted Infantry," 
said the other; and then put a similar question. 
"Third South Carolina Cavalry," said Glazier, feeling 
that he would be more at home as a trooper than an 
infantry soldier. To carry out his assumed character, 
he added some remarks regarding Sherman's barbari- 
ties, and was just congratulating himself upon the gul- 
libility of the Confederate, when his apprehensions 
were revived by a remark, that it was "strange a rebel 
officer should be dressed in a Federal uniform." 

"Not at all, sir," was the quick response, "a poor 
fellow must wear what he can get in times like these. 
I have not had a full equipment since I entered the 
service, and hang me, if I ever expect to get one. 
In the fight at Waynesboro' we captured a few Yanks, 
and I just stripped one fellow after he died, and took 
his clothes." 

This explanation appeared to satisfy the rebel officer, 
as he remarked, " that was a good idea, and I wish 
I had been as sensible myself." After inquiry about 
the probability of obtaining some "grub" from the 
auntie, whose hut he supposed the place to be, and 
receiving a discouraging reply, Glazier was advised to 
call upon a Mr. Brown. The property of this loyal 
gentleman had been protected from seizure by General 
Sherman, on account of his having claimed to be a 
"good Union man," and by General Wheeler, because 
he was a "good rebel," and his larder was described to 
be, in consequence, well stocked. Our hero prepared 
to depart, first earnestly inquiring the road to Mr. 
Brown's residence. 



260 SWOED AND PEN. 

**About two sights and a jambye," said the Alabam- 
ian, which interpreted, meant, twice as far as they could 
see, and the widtii of a swamp. 

Having obtained all the information he desired, 
without tiie remotest intention of availing himself of 
the "good Union man's" hospitality. Glazier said 
"good-day," and rejoined his friend. They made the 
best of their way along a path, until a turn carried 
them out of the rebel officer's sight, then wheeled sud- 
denly round, and ran rapidly for a considerable distance 
in the opposite direction to Mr. Brown's. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

RECAPTURED BY A CONFEDERATE OUTPOST. 

Fugitive slaves. — A rebel planter.— The Big Ebenezer. — A sound of 
oars. — A ru»e de guerre. — Burial of a dead soldier. — A free ride.— 
Groping in the dark. — " Who goes there ! " — Recaptured. — Nil 
desperaudum. — James Brooks. — Contraband of war. — Confederate 
murders. — In the saddle again. — A dash for freedom. — Again 
captured. — Tried as a spy. 

OUR hero had been somewhat impressed with the 
subdued tone and manner of the Confederate 
officer with whom he had lately parted. To some ex- 
tent he manifested a discouraged and cowed bearing, 
and this, taken with some other circumstances in their 
recent experience, led our friends to hope that the end 
was not very remote. 

After bidding adieu to the Confederate, they walked 
about two miles before discovering a place of conceal- 
ment in another swamp. Here they unexpectedly 
came upon a party of negroes sleeping around a large 
fire. They proved to be fugitive slaves, who had 
abandoned their homes in Burke County, Georgia, to 
follow in the rear of Sherman's army. They had 
formed part of a body of several hundred persons of 
all ages and both sexes, who had escaped and sought 
refuge upon an island in Big Ebenezer Creek, and had 
been inhumanly shelled out by the Confederates. 
Thence they had scattered over the country in small 
bands, and the present detached party were working 

(261) 



262 SWORD AND PEN. 

Llicir way back to their masters. Captain Glazier 
despatched one of them with a haversack in search of 
some food among the resident colored people, and the 
j'osult was so far satisfactory that our friends were put 
in possession of a good supply of sweet potatoes. 

After another march, and while still in the swamp, 
they heard wood-choppers, and Lemon started to 
reconnoitre. Guided by the sound of the axe, he ap- 
proached a small clearing, and seeing a negro, as he had 
expected, wielding the axe, walked forward to him, but 
was suddenly startled by observing a burly white man 
sitting on a log, smoking and looking on. They eyed 
each other for a moment in silence, when presently the 
planter demanded in a blustering voice, ^^ What are you 
doing here, in a blue uniform?'^ Lemon was not slow 
to answer in a corresponding tone, " I am serving my 
country, as every loyal man should do : what have you 
to say about it?^' 

" I believe you're a d — d Yankee,'' said the plan- 
ter. "You're welcome to your opinion, old Blow- 
hard," responded Lemon. *^ This is a free country; I 
am a Yankee — all but the d — d — and now what do 
you propose to do about it ?" (All this in an assumed 
tone of bluster, as the best adapted to the situation.) 
" We'll see ! we'll see ! " rejoined the planter, and at once 
started in a direct line for his house. Lemon lost no 
time, but returned as quickly as possible to his com- 
rade, and without any deliberation they evacuated the 
enemy's country with as much expedition as their tired 
legs were capable of exerting. Their ears were soon 
saluted with the music of a pack of hounds let loose on 
their track by the burly rebel, and the affair would 
have had a disastrous ending if they had not oppor- 



PLANKING THE ENEMY. 263 

tunely encountered a considerable stream, and by- 
wading through it for nearly a mile, succeeded in 
cutting off the scent of the hounds. 

The planter had raised a hue and cry for miles 
around, and our hunted friends, from their covert, saw 
mounted men patrolling the corduroy road through the 
swamp, seemingly under the belief that the "Yankees" 
would be driven to use this highway eventually, and 
thus fall an easy prey into their hands. The man- 
hunters, however, found themselves at fault, for our 
hero had learned, in the hard school of experience, to 
anticipate all such contingencies. He and Lemon 
therefore secreted themselves until late in the night, 
determined to rob them of their game. 

It was approaching midnight, December fifteenth, 
when the fugitives crept cautiously to the margin of 
the swamp. A large fire denoted the position of the 
planter^s picket. They ventured out through the mud 
and water with the purpose of flanking the enemy on 
their left — a hazardous proceeding, and attended with 
much suffering from the intense coldness of the water. 
In two hours, however, they had reached a point on 
the opposite side of the encampment, and fearing dis- 
covery and pursuit, soon placed two or three miles be- 
tween themselves and the foe. Sometimes they were 
made cognizant of the nearness of the parties in search 
of them, by overhearing their conversation, which 
treated mainly of Sherman's march to the sea, how it 
would affect the Confederacy, and similar interesting 
topics. 

Our friends passed the last picket at the edge of 
the swamp, but deeming it unwise to relax in speed 
or vigilance, pushed forward to the banks of the 



264 8W0RD AND PEN. 

"Bi"* Ebenezer," which advanced them three miles 
further. 

Here, upon the charred abutment of a burned bridge, 
Glazier and his friend paused, and with tlie dark river 
in their front, debated how they were to reach the other 
side. The dawn was just breaking, and through the 
rising mist they could discern the opposite shore, but 
no practicable mode of reaching it. They must not, 
however, remain here after daybreak, and therefore 
sought and found a place of concealment, again in the 
hateful swamp, but not far from the river's bank. 
They were soon enjoying the rest and sleep of the 
weary. 

Lemon was startled from his slumber by a sound 
resembling that of oars. He awoke Glazier, and both 
listened intently, at a loss to understand the meaning 
of such a sound in such a place. In a few minutes the 
noise ceased, and looking cautiously from their hiding- 
place, they observed two men pass near them, having 
the appearance of messengers or couriers, with des- 
patches, which they could plainly see in their hands. 
It at once occurred to our hero and his companion that 
the boat in which these men had rowed themselves up 
the river, could be made available for crossing to its 
opjiosite bank. They found it moored to a tree, and 
at once embarked and crossed the stream. To prevent 
pursuit they cast the boat adrift, and as speedily as 
possible left "Big Ebenezer" behind them. 

At a short distance from the river side Lemon stum- 
tied over the dead body of a soldier, which, upon 
examination, proved to be that of a Federal. Our 
friends having no means of placing the body under- 
ground, concluded to bury it in the river, and thus 



A LEAD COMRADE. 265 

prevent to some extent its desecration by dogs or other 
carrion-seeking animals that might find it exposed. 
This was the best they could do under the circum- 
stances, and thus the poor body found a sailor's, if not 
a soldier's grave. 

They had advanced not many paces again when they 
discovered two horses tied to a tree, possibly the 
property of the two couriers whose boat they had pre- 
viously utilized. These they looked upon as fair spoil 
in an enemy's country, and with little compunction and 
less ceremony mounted and started on their way. A 
few miles brought them to the verge of the wood, and 
the day was now breaking. They therefore reluctantly 
dismounted, turned their steeds adrift for fear of 
detection, and trudged forward on foot once more. 

Soon they had reason to congratulate themselves on 
their prudence in dismounting. Another quarter of a 
mile brought within view a Confederate picket, but 
they were not themselves observed. They accordingly 
sought a hiding-place among the thick undergrowth, 
and were soon asleep, remaining so until midnight. 
They then turned the flank of the picket and proceeded 
on their journey. 

Long immunity from the peril of recapture had 
now inspired Glazier and his friend with hope and 
full confidence in successfully attaining the end of 
their struggles. The swamp, the river, the alligator, 
the man-hunter, and worse than all, the blood-hound, 
had been met and successfully overcome or evaded ; and 
after three long weeks of travel from the execrable and 
inhuman people, who had held them as prisoners of war, 
and treated them worse than dogs, they now found 
themselves within twenty miles of Savannah. 



266 SWORD AND PEN, 

Resting himself upon a fallen tree, clad in rags, 
hungry and reduced almost to the proportions of a 
skeleton by long fasting, Glazier and his companion 
were able to congratulate themselves upon their won- 
derful preservation thus far. All seemed to foreshadow 
their final triumph, and their spirits were cheered, not- 
w^ithstanding that food had not passed their lips for 
the past thirty-six hours, w^th the exception of a few 
grains of corn picked up by the way. Probably within 
the brief space of twenty-four hours they would be 
again free and under the protection of the glorious 
flag, in whose defence they had fought and suffered so 
much. 

Flushed with their past success and elated with 
hope for the future they recommenced their march. 
They had no exact information as to the position of the 
Federal army, and were in fact groping their way in 
the dark — figuratively as well as literally — every sense 
on the alert to avoid the enemy's picket lines. 

On reaching Little Ebenezer Creek about midnight 
they were chagrined to find the bridge destroyed, but 
after reconnoitring for a time, were satisfied that the 
coast was clear on the opposite side. Finding some 
broken planks they constructed a raft and paddled 
themselves across the stream. 

They were now on the Savannah River Road, over 
which Kilpatrick's cavalry and the Fourteenth Army 
Corps had passed but a week before. Old camping- 
grounds were numerous along their way, and each 
was examined closely for any bread or other eatables 
they thought might have been left by the army. 

They were closely engaged in this search, when 
"Who comes there?" was gruffly shouted by a 
voice near them. 



RECAPTURED. 267 

"Friends," promptly answered Glazier. 

"Advance one ! " commanded the picket. 

" I advanced promptly/' writes Captain Glazier, in 
the history of his capture and imprisonment, "and 
arriving near my captors found them to be mounted 
infantry. They were sitting upon their horses in the 
shade of some cypress-trees. One asked, ' Who are 
you ? ' to which 1 replied, ^A scout to General Hardie, 
and must not be detained, as I have important infor- 
mation for the general/ 

" The picket replied, ' I'm instructed to take every 
person to the officer of the picket that approaches this 
post after dark.' 

" ' I can't help it, sir. It is not customary to arrest 
scouts, and I must pass on.' 

"*You cannot; I must obey orders. I do not 
doubt the truth of your assertion ; but until you have 
seen the lieutenant, you will not be allowed to pass 

this post.' 

"Finding that I had met a good soldier I saw that 
it was useless to trifle with him, and tried to console 
myself with the thought that I should be able to dupe 
the officer; and as we were hurried on towards the 
reserve of the picket my mind was occupied in arrang- 
ing a plan for our defence, as spies to the great rebel 
chief. Arrived at the reserve we found nearly all 
asleep, in close proximity to a large rail-fire, including 
the lieutenant'. 

"A little rough shaking soon roused him up, and, 
rubbing his eyes, he asked, 'What's wanted?' 

"I quickly answered, ^'m surprised, sir, that 
scouts to our generals should be arrested by your 
picket,' 



268 SWORD AND FEN. 

" He said, ^ My instructions are positiv^e, and no 
man can pass this })ost without examination.' 

'' ' Very well, then,' 1 said, * be erood enough to 
examine us at once.' 

" * Have you passes ? ' 

"*No, sir; not at present. We had ])apers when 
we left the general's headquarters; but having been 
scouting in Northern Georgia, for the past two weeks, 
our papers are worn out and lost.' 

" * You have some papers about you, I suppose? ' 

"Thinking that by answering in the affirmative, 
and producing quickly an old package of letters which 
had been received while in Libby Prison, that none of 
them would be examined, 1 hastily drew them from 
the side-pocket of my jacket and held them before me, 
saying, 'I hope here are enough, sir.' 

"The lieutenant's curiosity led him to take one 
which had been received from Colonel Clarence Buel, 
of Troy, New York. He held it near the fire, and 
noticing the date, turned his eyes towards me and 
again to the letter; the second glance seemed to satisfy 
him that I was not a rebel, and he remarked very 
indignantly, ' Then you are scouting for General 
Hardie, are you? I believe you are a d — d Yankee 
spy! and if you were to get your deserts I should hang 
you to the first tree I come to.' Said I, * Lieutenant, 
do not be too hasty. I can convince you that 1 have 
been a prisoner of war, and if you are a true soldier I 
shall be treated as such.' 

"Becoming a little more mild he gave us to under- 
stand that we should start at ten o'clock the next 
morning for Springfield, the headquarters of General 
Wheeler* 



A GENEROUS REBEL. 269 

"After detailing a special guard for the prisoners, 
and instructing them to be on the alert, the lieutenant 
laid himself down by the fire, leaving us to reflect 
upon the hardness of fate, and the uncertainties 
attending an effort to escape the clutches of a vigilant 
enemy." 

Glazier did not despair, but at the first opportunity 
communicated to Lemon his determination to reach 
the Federal lines at all risks ; he would never return 
to South Carolina a prisoner ; the horrors of prison- 
life and the privations and sufferings they had already 
endured, should never be repeated in his case, but 
rather — welcome death ! Their enemies — albeit fellow- 
countrymen and Ame7ncans — were inhuman and bar- 
barous, and before putting himself in their hands again, 
he would submit to be hung by bushwhackers, or 
torn to pieces by blood-hounds. Their case was now 
desperate, and for his part he would take the first 
chance that offered of getting away. Our hero thought 
he could count on Lemon's concurrence and co-opera- 
tion. The men of the picket told him they had been 
arrested at the outpost; and it was now clear that 
if the fugitives had been so fortunate as to pass 
this picket, they could have reached the Federal 
lines in less than an hour. Only a step intervened 
between captivity and freedom — the thought was very 
disheartening. 

An instance of exceptional kindness on the part of a 
Confederate must not be omitted here. James Brooks, 
one of the picket, came to the prisoners and invited 
them to partake of some hoe-cake and bacon. He said 
he had been out foraging, and would share his plunder 
with them. Having been without food for forty-eight 



270 SWORD AND PEN. 

hours, save a few ears of corn, they eagerly embraced 
the generous offer. The hoe-cake was produced and 
partaken of ravenously and thankfully. The other 
men of the picket were disgusted at the liberality of 
their comrade, calling him a " blue belly/^ and a fool 
to give good bread to a couple of d — d Yanks. Like 
a true man, however, he made no reply to their brutal 
taunts, and gave the captives a most excellent breakfast. 
Having finished their welcome meal, they asked 
permission to bathe themselves, under guard, in a little 
stream not many rods from the reserve, which request 
was granted. Here the prisoners in their desperation 
offered the guard one hundred dollars in Confederate 
scrip, which had been given them by their negro 
friends, to assist them in making their escape. The 
guards seemed to distrust each other, and declined 
the proposal. They, however, said they would be 
right glad to have the money, but feared to take it, as 
they were held responsible for the safe return of the 
prisoners. The offer of the bribe was reported to the 
lieutenant, who at once ordered the delinquents to be 
searched, and all the scrip found upon them was con- 
fiscated, as contraband of war, and appropriated to 
rebel uses, leaving our two unfortunate friends penni- 
less. They were further threatened with condign 
punishment for offering to bribe the guard. One said 
" Shoot them ; " another, " Let 'em stretch hemp ; " 
several recommended that they be taken to the swamp 
and "sent after Sherman's raiders,'' — referring, proba- 
bly, to the manner in which they had disposed of some 
of the Federal sick, who had been left in the rear of 
the army. Of this incident Glazier writes : " I had 
been told by the negroes that fifteen of our sick, 



ESCAPE AND PURSUIT. 271 

who fell into the hands of the rebels but a few day 
before our recapture, were taken to a swamp, where 
their throats were cut, and their bodies thrown into a 
slough hole. I cannot vouch for the truth of this 
statement, but it came to me from many whose 
veracity I have no reason to question/^ 

Let us in the name of humanity doubt it! 

At ten o'clock A. M. a mounted guard, consisting of 
a corporal and two men, were detailed to march the 
prisoners to the headquarters of General Wheeler. 
They had not proceeded far when Glazier assumed to 
be footsore, and pleaded his utter inability to walk any 
further. Believing this, one of the guards dismounted 
and helped him into the saddle. Our hero was no 
sooner mounted than he decided that, come what would, 
he would make his escape. In a few moments the 
guard who was on foot espied a black squirrel darting 
across the road, and oblivious of his responsibility, 
gave chase to it. Glazier looking on and biding his 
time The squirrel soon ran up a tree, and leapec^ 
from bough to bough with its usual agility. Suddenly 
it halted on a prominent branch, seeming to bid de- 
fiance to its pursuer. The carbine was instantly raised^ 
and discharged. Without waiting to note the result. 
Glazier, feeling that noio was his opportunity, dashed 
off at a gallop, urging his horse to the top of his 
speed. Before the squirrel-hunter could reload, he 
was many yards away. The corporal in charge fired 
his revolver, and at each discharge of the weapon, 
shouted to the fugitive to halt! but Glazier gave no 
heed to the summons, and might have succeeded in 
reaching the swamps and defied recapture, if he had not 
unfortunately galloped into a rebel camp ! Baffled, he 



272 SWORD AND PEN, 

turned his horse, and endeavored to cross an open field, 
but the corporal continued to shout, " Halt tliat d — d 
Yankee ! '' when a body of Texan Rangers from 
General Iverson's cavalry division, some mounted 
and some dismounted, gave chase, hooting and yelping, 
and finally overtook and compelled him to surrender. 

The guard whose horse Lieutenant Glazier had rid- 
den came up and vented his rage at the escapade in no 
measured language. The Texans, however, enjoyed 
the fun of the thing, and laughed at, and ridiculed him. 
Said one, ^'You are a d — d smart soldier to let a 
blue-belly get away from you — and on your own 
horse too!" Another joined in with, "Say, Corporal, 
which of them nags can run fastest?" Nothing of 
course was said about the squirrels! 

On Lemon and his guard coming up they resumed 
their march to headquarters — Glazier's lameness excit- 
ing no further sympathy, nor the offer of another 
mount. 

The escort with their charge reached General 
Wheeler's headquarters in the afternoon, and the re- 
port handed in stated that, ^' the two prisoners had 
been captured while attempting to pass the out-post, 
under the pretence of being scouts to General Hardie.'^ 

Wheeler ordered them at once into his presence and 
questioned them closely. 

Captain Glazier thus graphically relates the inter- 
view : 

"*Then you are scouting for Confederate generals?' 
said Wheeler. 

"I replied, * We would have rejoiced if we could 
have convinced your out-post that we were.' 

" ^ None of your impudence, sir ! Remember that 
you are a prisoner.' 



BEFORE GENERAL WHEELER, 273 

"'Very true; but when you ask questions, you 
.nust expect answers/ 

" ' What are you doing with that gray jacket? ' 

" ^ I wear it, sir, to protect myself from the sun and 

storm.' 

" ^ Where did you get it ? ' 

"^One of the guards at Columbia was kind enough 
to give it to me, when he saw that I was suffering 
for the want of clothing to cover my nakedness.' 

"^ He could not have been a true rebel, to assist a 
Yankee in making his escai)e.' 

^* * He knew nothing of my intention to escape ; and 
I believe he was at least a kind-hearted man.' 

" ' Why don't you wear the Federal uniform ? Are 
the Yankees ashamed of it ? ' 

"^By no means, sir! What few garments were 
spared me at the time of my capture were worn out 
during a long imprisonment, and the clothing which 
was sent on to Richmond by our Government during 
the winter of 1863 for distribution among the pris- 
oners, was, for the most part, appropriated by your 
authorities.' 

" * Like most of your contemptible Yankee crew, I 
believe you to be a lying scoundrel, and you shall an- 
swer to the charge of spy.' 

"<Yery well, sir, I am compelled to await your 
pleasure ; but you have heard nothing but the truth.' 

*^^ Guard ! take the prisoners to the jail, place them 
in a cell, and keep them in close confinement until 
further orders.' " 

The above colloquy between Wheeler and his 
prisoners reflects small credit upon him as a leader of 
" Southern Chivalry." 
21 



CHAPTER XXV. 

FINAL ESCAPE FROM CAPTIVITY. 

In jail. — White trash. — Yankees. — Off to Waynesboro. — No rations 
Calling the roll. — Sylvania. — Plan for escape. — Lieutenant John 
W. Wright. — A desperate j)rqject. — risca{>ed ! — Ciiving chase. — 
The pursuers baffled. — Old Richard. — ** Pooty hard case, niassa." 
— Rebel deserters. — The sound of cannon. — Personating a rebel 
officer. — Mrs. Keyton, — Renewed hot>e.— A Confederate outpost. 
— Bloodhounds. — Uncle Philip. — March Dasher. — Suspicion dis- 
armed. — "Now Pze ready, geramen." — Stars and stripes. — Glo- 
rious freedom. — Home I 

IN obedience to orders, Glazier and his comrade were 
at once marched off lo the county jail at Spring- 
field, Georgia, then in the hands of the military author- 
ities. They were the only njilitary prisoners confined 
there, and were allowed the privilege of leaving their 
cell and going into the yard for fresh air. They were 
not a little amused by the crowds of wonderii^g citizens 
who visited the jail to view the "two live Yanks." 

These worthy citizens were greatly exercised that the 
prisoners should be periDitted to leave their cells, and 
called on the jailer to remove them from the yard or 
they would take the keys into their own hands; but 
the officer in command told them that he was person- 
ally responsible for their safe-custody, and refused to 
remove them. These white Georgians were a very 
primitive class of people. Utterly illiterate and unin- 
formed, their mode of speech was as bad as that of the 
most ignorant slaves on the plantations. The term 
" white trash," whatever its origin, was a most appro- 
(274) 



''IMPS OF darkness:' 275 

priate designation. No care had been taken to educate 
them — no school-houses built; education being confined 
to the few whose wealth enabled them to send their 
children to Northern schools, or to engage a private 
tutor. Discovering that the prisoners were harmless, 
many of these people asked them questions of a curi- 
ous and comical nature. They thought Yankees were 
imps of darkness, possessed of horns and hoof, and, 
seeing that the prisoners were formed not unlike them- 
selves, were with difficulty persuaded that they were 
" Yankees." Their idea of the causes and character of 
the war was ludicrous in the extreme, and will hardly 
bear description — the negroes themselves being far 
better informed upon this, as they were upon most 
other subjects. 

A very brief examination before a hastily convened 
board of officers resulted in a finding that the captives 
were ^' escaped prisoners of war," and not " spies." 
They were accordingly asked, where they were cap- 
tured, where imprisoned, when they escaped, etc. ; 
and then a strong guard from the Second Georgia 
Cavalry was detailed to convey them, with fifteen 
other j)risoners from the Fourteenth Army Corps, to 
Waynesboro. 

From the other prisoners Glazier gleaned much use- 
ful information concerning the situation of the Union 
lines, and also learned where the rebel troops were 
stationed in Sherman's rear. Should he attempt 
another escape, this knowledge would be valuable. 
The rebel escort cared very little for the wants of their 
prisoners, and issued no rations whatever to them — 
they themselves being entirely dependent on foraging 
for their own supplies. As the unfortunate prisoners 



276 SWORD AND PEN. 

could not forage for tliemselves they had to go without, 
a condition of things that spoke little for the soldierly 
feeling of the guard. All attempts to elude the vigi- 
lance of the latter during the day had failed, and as 
darkness drew on, Glazier and his friend felt in very 
low spirits. They came to a halt a few minutes before 
dark, and were quartered in an old building for the 
night. 

In passing through a large swamp, just before halt- 
ing, the water was so deep that each man had to wade 
through as he best could. The guard exerted them- 
selves to their utmost to keep them together, but in spite 
of their efforts to do so, one of the prisoners fell out, and 
his absence was overlooked by the sergeant, although 
noticed by his fellow-prisoners, who succeeded in con- 
vincing the sergeant that all were present. The mode 
was this: Glazier found out the absent man's name, and 
then volunteered to call the roll from a list in the ser- 
geant's possession. It being dark, a piece of pitch-pine 
was lighted, and the list handed to Glazier, who pro- 
ceeded to call the names. All answered, except the 
absentee, when, according to previous arrangement, 
each affirmed that no such man had been among them. 
The sergeant sapiently concluded that the name had 
found its way upon the roster by some error, and 
nothing further was said about it. Had this little ruse 
not been resorted to, great efforts would have been 
made to recover the fugitive. Picked men would have 
been detailed, hounds called out from the nearest plan- 
tation, and a very short time would have convinced 
the unfortunate victim how^ little hope there was for 
him who sought to shun the horrors of prison-life by 
an escape. 



SYLVANIA, GEORGIA, 277 

We do not propose entering into any detail of this 
march into captivity, more especially as our hero has 
himself fully and graphically described it in his "Cap- 
ture, Prison-Pen and Escape," compiled from a diary 
kept during the whole period of his adventurous career, 
and published in 1865. We will merely state here 
that on Monday, December nineteenth, 1864, after a 
dreary march of twenty-five miles, the captives found 
themselves encamped for the night at the little vil- 
lage of Sylvania, Georgia; half-way between the point 
of their departure and that of their destination, 
Waynesboro. 

Glazier's mind, during the whole of the day, had 
been preoccupied with but one subject — how to escape! 
— this problem excluding every other thought or con- 
sideration of himself or his surroundings. 

Early in the evening tlie prisoners were stationed on 
the porch of a large unoccupied building, and here it 
was determined they should pass the night. The vil- 
lagers of Sylvania knew little of the sad realities of 
war, having hitherto happily escaped the visits of the 
armed hosts. They surrounded the men of the escort, 
and plied them with many curious questions, which 
were good-naturedly answered with as much, or as 
little exaggeration as good soldiers usually indulge in 
when confronted with greenhorns. Their attention, 
thus agreeably occupied by the simple-minded villagers, 
was in some degree removed from their charge, and 
this little circumstance seemed propitious to Glazier, 
who was watching intently his opportunity. 

The sergeant had notified the prisoners that his 
foragers had returned with a quantity of sweet potatoes 
and some corn-bread ; that the former would be issued 



278 SWORD AND PEN. 

to the " Yanks," and the latter to tlie guard. Orders also 
were given to place all the food at one end of the porch, 
where a fire had been kindled of rail fence ; and the j)0- 
tatoes were to be served to the prisoners from that point. 

Glazier, under the pretence of desiring to use the 
fire for the purpose oi* roasting the j)otatoes, obtained 
leave for all to remain outside on the j)()rch until after 
supper. This concession reluctantly granted, hope 
sprang in his breast that the opportunity he so ardently 
sought was now at hand. Quickly he determined 
upon his plan of operation, and seeing Lieutenant John 
W. Wright, of the Tenth Iowa Volunteers, near him, 
whispered in his ear an outline of his desperate })roject, 
and invited the latter to join in putting it into execu- 
tion. To this pro})osition, without a moment's consid- 
eration, Wright consented. 

The two candidates for freedom then sauntered to- 
wards the end of the porch, conversing loudly and 
cheerfully upon general topics, and thus excited no 
suspicion of their intentions. The hungry prisoners 
gathered around the ration-board, when Glazier, cov- 
ertly signaling his com|)anion, each suddenly clutched 
a good handful of the corn-bread. Under cover of the 
increasing darkness, and screened from observation by 
the men who stood between them and the guard, they 
quietly but rapidly, in a stooping position, stole away, 
making for the edge of a neighboring wood. Not a 
word was spoken, and in less time than it takes to re- 
cord it, they were concealed among the foliage and 
undergrowth ; and, befriended by the darkness, were 
completely masked from the observation of the enemy. 

Fortunately their flight was unobserved until after 
the distribution of the rations, when the guard missed 



FREE AGAIN/ 279 

their corn-bread. This seemed to be felt more than 
the loss of their ])risoners, the sergeant exclaiming, in 
euphemistic southern (according to Glazier), " By dog 
on't! the d — d Yankee officers have done gone and 
took all our corn-bread. I'll have them, if it costs me 
a horse ! '^ 

Calling out a corporal and four men, he quickly or- 
dered them to go to the nearest plantation for hounds, 
and to " bring back the two Yanks dead or alive," add- 
ing that he " guessed they had taken the Springfield 
road," which was the nearest route to the Federal 
lines. 

Jt happened, however, that the peremptory orders of 
the sergeant were overheard by Glazier and Wright, 
who were hidden not many yards away in the wood. 
Instead, therefore, of proceeding on the direct road by 
way of Springfield, they retraced their steps in the 
dark, and by this means baffled their pursuers. Hav- 
ing reached the Middle Ground Road, over which they 
had lately passed, they bounded over it to avoid leav- 
ing their foot-prints, and thus broke the trail. They 
were now in a large and densely-wooded swamp, and, 
effectually concealed by the umbrageous covering, sat 
down to a council of war. 

We may here state that Lieutenant Lemon, the late 
faithful companion of our hero, had been prevented from 
participating in the plan of escape, and was eventually 
taken back to be re-tortured in his old quarters at 
Columbia. Wright was also an escaped prisoner from 
Columbia, whom Glazier had often met during his 
imprisonment there. He escaped from "Camp Sor- 
ghum^a few days after Lemon and Glazier, bat un- 
fortunately was recaptured just when he felt that he 
was about to bid adieu to his captivity. 



280 SWORD AND PEN. 

Lieutenant Wright possessed one advantage for th« 
dangerous and desperate enterprise they had now re- 
entered upon — he knew tlie country. By his advice, 
therefore, it was agreed to remain quietly concealed in 
the swamp until night, when he would lead the way to 
the hut of a negro who had befriended him during his 
previous attempt to escape. 

About midnight he piloted Glazier to the hut of 
''Old Richard," a worthy and kind-hearted negro, who 
had supplied him with hoe-cake and bacon just 
before his recapture. Richard was in ecstasies on 
beholding his friend, Massa Wright, again, whom he 
knew to have been retaken, and with due formality, our 
hero was introduced. On being asked for some bacon 
and sweet potatoes to put with their corn-bread, he re- 
plied : *' Pooty hard case, massa; but dis yer darkey '11 
do de best he can. Can't get nuffin' on this plantation, 
butreckon I can buysome'tatoesdownatMassaSmith's, 
three miles from yer, and will go down thar after I 
finish my task to-morrer. As to meat," he said, "you 
know, massa, dat in the Souf de slave takes what de 
white folks frows away, and I reckon you all couldn't 
eat a tainted ham dat ole massa gib me t'other day; but 
if you can, God knows dis chile gibs it to you wid all 
his heart." Having become, from long fasting, almost 
entirely indifferent to the sense of taste, our friends 
gave Old Richard to understand that the ham would 
be welcome. 

The important question of rations having been thus 
satisfactorily arranged, Richard was asked to guide the 
fugitives to some j)lace of hiding, where no rebel could 
find them. Accordingly, they were conducted to a 
swamp, and soon discovered a secure place of conceal- 



LIEUTENANT WRIGHT 28i 

ment for the day. "The whippoorwill and turtle-dove," 
Captain Glazier writes, ''enlivened the hours with their 
inspiring notes, and as night began to approach, the 
gloomy owl, from the tree-tops, uttered his solemn 
warning cry. The pine and cypress, swayed by the 
breeze, moaned a perj^etual chorus, and under their 
teaching we learned, during the long, dreary hours, 
how much we were indebted to these dismal wilds, 
that concealed both friend and foe. 

" Here the rebel deserter concealed himself from his 
pursuers. Here the loyalist found a hiding-place from 
the rebel conscripting officer. Here the trembling 
negro had his first taste of freedom. Here the escaped 
Union prisoner was enabled to baffle blood-hounds and 
human-hounds, and make his way to the Federal 
lines." 

The day wore away at length, and as darkness was 
approaching, Old Richard, true to his promise, was on 
hand with the supplies. He gave the fugitives all he 
had been able to purchase with his small means, and 
they, after asking God to bless him for his kindness^ 
departed. Our friends trudged away, rejoicing, not- 
withstanding their flitigue, and the bodily weakness of 
Glazier. For the latter had by this time been reduced in 
weight to not more than ninety pounds, his usual weight 
having been about one hundred and forty-five. He 
was still, however, filled with indomitable "pluck," and 
a determination to conquer the situation, with all its 
dread horrors, and return to his colors. Wright, on 
the other hand, had a splendid physique, and cared 
little for hardships that would have intimidated, or 
perhaps killed, an ordinary man. On several occasions 
he picked Glazier up and generously bore him upon 



282 SWORD AND PEN. 

his broad shoukiers over the worst parts of the swamp, 
the latter being too weak to make his way alone with- 
out fallinor into the sloui>;h-holes. 

They were startled, in the course of this night, on 
seeing two men, who, by their conversation, which was 
overheard, proved to be rebel deserters from Wheeler's 
command. Our friends deemed it the wisest plan to 
secrete themselves behind a log until the meu had 
passed. 

At break of day they again concealed themselves, 
and rested between the roots of an ancient cypress. 
Their ears were now greeted with the distant boom of 
heavy cannon, which came from the direction of 
Savannah. This helped in directing their course for 
the following night, and also announced to them in 
plain language that they were not very far from the 
friends they longed to meet. 

Refreshed and recruited they started as the shades 
of evening fell, determined, if possible, to accomplish a 
good march before daylight. 

They had not, however, proceeded far, when a large 
plantation became visible, the wliite mansion gleaming 
through the trees. Wright recognizing the place, 
suggested that Glazier might procure a good supper, 
and something for the haversack, if he would boldly 
call and personate a rebel officer, trusting to his 
face and ready wit to carry him through. He had 
heard from some negroes that the only occupant was 
a Mrs. Keyton and some young children, the wife and 
family of the ])lanter, who was an officer in the 
rebel army ; and further that there were no hounds 
about the place. 

Glazier, with characteristic promptness, acquiesced; 



A FORAGING EXPEDITION, 283 

and the following is a description of the interview, 
extracted from the diary, which amid all his wander- 
ings and trials he never failed to keep regularly writ- 
ten up : 

"After hearing Wright's description, and having 
agreed upon signals of danger, should any occur, I 
started on my foraging expedition, with a good degree 
of assurance. 

" Stepping up to the door of the mansion, I rapped, 
and the lady soon made lier appearance. She seemed 
both refined and intelligent. I asked, * Can you give 
this rebel a supper?^ She replied, 'You shall have 
the best the house affords,' and invited me to step in 
and take a seat by the fire. I did so, saying, as I took 
my seat, 'Madam, I am shocked at the dastardly con- 
duct of General Sherman in his march through 
Georgia. It has been characterized by nothing but 
what should excite revenge, and move to action, every 
man possessing a true Southern spirit. Our aged citi- 
zens, who have banded together for mutual protection, 
have been treated as bushwackers — have been driven 
from their homes, and their proj)erty confiscated. Our 
hounds, always true to the interests of the South, have 
been shot down by the road -side for no other reason 
than that they were used in tracking escaped pris- 
oners — ' 

" Interrupting me here, the lady remarked, much to 
my surprise, that she could not see that the Yankees 
were much worse than the Confederates, after all. 
She added : " * When the Yankee army passed through 
this State, they took from the rich the supplies necessary 
for their sustenance ; and when our cavalry followed 
they took nearly all that was left, seeming to care 
(194) 



284 SWORD AND PEN. 

but little for our wants, and often stripping defence- 
less women and children of their last morsel of 
bread/ 

"'I regret, madam, that the conduct of our troops 
has been such as to give you reason for complaint/ 

" * I, too, regret that our men have not proved them- 
selves worthy of a cause which they appear so willing 
to defend/ 

"* Remember/ I continued, ^ that our commis- 
sary department has been completely wrecked, and 
that we are entirely dependent upon the people for the 
subsistence of a large army.' 

^'By the sad expression of her countenance, which 
accompanied and followed this remark, I saw clearly 
that she felt we had reached a crisis in the war, when 
Providence was turning the tables, and she accordingly 
interrogated : 

"^And what do you think of present prospects?' 

"I quickly responded, * Our future looks dark — 
our cause appears almost hopeless, but the sacrifices of 
our gallant dead remain unavenged. Therefore, we 
must fight while there is a man left, and die in the 
last ditch/ 

"'If there be no longer any hope of success, sir, I 
should say that it would be better to lay down our 
arms at once, and go back under the old flag/ 

" ' Madam, we must fight, we must fight !^ 

"*But it is wickedness and worse than madness to 
continue this awful massacre of human beings, with- 
out some prospect of ultimate success/ 

"'Very true; but we have lost all in this struggle, 
and must sell our lives as dearly as possible/ 

" By this time the good lady seemed to have waxed 



THE WIFE OF A REBEL. 285 

enthusiastic, and warm as the fire over which the ser- 
vant was preparing my supper, and she answered : 

"*My husband is a captain in the Twenty-fifth 
Georgia Infantry. He is the father of these chihlren, 
and is very dear to both them and me. Long have I 
prayed that he might be spared to return to his family, 
but fear that we shall never be permitted to see him 
again. When he entered the army, I admired his 
patriotism, and was glad to see him go in defence of 
what I supposed to be the true interests of the southern 
people; but we have been deceived from the beginning 
by our military and political leaders. It is time to 
open our eyes, and see what obstinacy has brought us. 
We are conquered. Let us return to the administra- 
tion of the Federal government, ere we are ruined.' 

"Madam, your sympathies appear to be largely 
with the Yankees.' 

" < It is not strange, sir; I was born and educated in 
New England ;— and your speech would indicate that 
you too are not a native of the South. 

" ' You are right ; I am a New Yorker by birth, but 
have been for a considerable time in South Carolina.' 

''After partaking of the frugal meal set before me, 
which consisted of corn-bread and sweet potatoes, I 
thanked the lady for her kindness, and told her that I 
regretted very deeply that I was not in a situation to 
remunerate her for so much trouble. Noticing my 
blue pants as I arose from the table, she remarked : 

" * It is impossible for me to know our men from 
the Yankees by the uniform; but a few days since, two 
soldiers asked me to get them some supper, claiming 
to be scouts to General Wheeler; they told many very 
plausible stories, and the next day, to my astonishment, 
I was charged with harboring Yankee spies.' 



286 SWORD AND PEN. 

"'I do not wonder that you find it difficult to dis- 
tinguish the Yankee from the Confe^lerate soldier, for 
in these trying times a poor rebel is com|>elle<l to wear 
anything he can get. The dead are always stripped, 
and at this season of the year, we find the Federal uni- 
form far more comfortable than our own.' 

'' ' It must be an awful extremity that could tempt 
men to strip the dying and the dead ! ' 

" ' We have become so much accustomed to such prac- 
tices, that we are unmoved by scenes which might appall 
and sicken those who have never served in our ranks.' 

"^I sincerely hope that these murderous ])ractices 
will soon be at an end.' 

" Feeling that I had been absent from my comrade 
long enough, and that it was time to make my depar- 
ture, r arose, saying, 

"^ I must go, madam ; may I know to whom I am 
so much indebted for my supper and kind entertain- 
ment this evening?' 

"' Mrs. James Keyton. And what may I call your 
name?* 

"*Willard Glazier, Fifty-third Alabama Mounted 
Infantry.' 

"^Should you chance to meet the Twenty-fifth 
Georgia, please inquire for Captain Keyton, and say 
to him that his wife and children are well, and send 
their love.' 

^'^He shall certainly have your message if it is my 
good fortune to meet him. Good-night.'" 

Leaving Mrs. Keyton with her fears for the rebel 
cause in general, and her husband in particular, Glazier 
hurried out to find his friend Wright pacing up and 
down the road in a bad humor at having been kept so 



"WE ARE FOLLOWED," 287 

long waiting ; but setting their faces in the direction 
of Springfield, they at once started on their march. 
They soon found tlieraselves approaching the rebel 
forces in General Shermai^ rear, and determined at all 
risks to obtain information of the two armies. They 
were at General Iverson's headquarters, and at one 
time were within fifteen paces of the house he occupied. 

Cautiously concealing themselves behind trees they 
reached a spot within earshot of the provost-guard, 
and overheard their conversation. The prospects of 
the war were freely discussed, and the fall of Savannah. 
Tlie conclusion forced on the minds of our friends was 
that the Confederate cause was losing ground, and its 
armies would soon be compelled to surrender to the 
Union force. 

Glazier and his comrade left the spot inspired with 
renewed courage. 

Six miles on their road to Springfield found daylight 
approaching, and the fugitives hurriedly secreted them- 
selves among some tall swamp grass. They were 
suddenly aroused by the baying of a blood-hound, and 
immediately sprang to their feet. 

^' We are followed! " exclaimed Wright. 

"What do you propose to do?" quickly asked 
Glazier. 

" I am undecided," was the unsatisfactory reply. 

"It is my opinion," said Glazier, promptly, "that 
if we are not off at once we shall be prisoners." 

" Well, off it is! " spoke Wright ; and both struck 
off in a southeasterly direction in double quick time. 
Fences and ditches were leaped, and streams forded, 
the liounds approaching so nearly that their baying 
could be distinctly heard by the fugitives ; but fortu- 
22 



288 SWORD AND PEN. 

iiately, or providentially, they came to a large creek, and 
jumping in, waded along its course for a distance of 
some sixty rods, then emerging, pursued their journey 
in the direction they had inlbnded. About one o'clock 
they concluded they had out-generaled the bush- 
whackers and their hounds. Elated by success they 
l)ecame less cautious and did not halt. About two 
o'clock Glazier was startled by seeing his companion 
drop suddenly and silently behind a tree. Glazier 
followed, watching the movements of Wright, and 
presently saw that they were within a few rods of a 
Confederate picket. Before they had time to move 
a cavalry patrol came up to the post with instructions, 
and, as soon as he had passed, our friends crawled upon 
their hands and knees into the friendly swamp, and 
thus screened themselves from their enemy. 

The hounds^ however, were a source of greater dati- 
ger to the fugitives than the rebel pickets; the training 
and scent of the former having been so perfected and 
developed by long and cruel use in the recapture of 
fugitive slaves, that, to evade them, was almost an 
impossibility. Hence the sense of caution was strained 
to the utmost both by night and day on the part of our 
friends. 

The use of blood-hounds in warfare is considered 
barbarous in every country pretending to civilization, 
even if they are employed against a foreign foe. How 
much more so, in a war waged between fellow-citizens 
of one blood, one history, one language, and in numer- 
ous instances, bearing domestic or family relations to 
each other ; and this, in support of a cause, the right- 
eousness of which was doubted by many who found 
themselves unwillingly compelled to give in their 



"UNCLE PHILIP." 289 

-adherence at the dictation of a few ambitious men. 
For this sin a righteous God has judged them ! A 
cause thus supported deserved defeat in tlie estimation 
of just men of every nation, apart from all political 
considerations. 

Captain Glazier and his friend congratulated them- 
selves on having so far eluded, by every expedient 
known to them, the sanguinary fangs of these bar- 
barous instruments of warfare ; and after nightfall con- 
tinued their route, passing the picket in the darkness. 

Soon after they encountered a colored friend, known 
among his people as '' Uncle Philip." This good 
darkey informed them that the Federal forces had 
possession of Cherokee Hill, on the Savannah River 
Road, only eight miles distant — news which afforded 
them inexpressible joy ! Uncle Philip was asked if 
he would guide them to the lines; and replied: " I'ze 
neber ben down dar, massa, sense Massa Sherman's 
company went to Savannah; but I reckon you-uns can 
git Massa Jones, a free cullered man, to take you ober. 
He's a mighty bright pusson, and understands de 
swamjxs jest like a book." 

On reaching Jones' hut his wife informed them that 
her husband was out scouting, but was expected back 
about eleven o'clock. She urged our friends to enter 
and await his return, as he was always glad to do all 
in his power for the Yankees. Fearing the rebel 
scouts might discover them, they, at first, hesitated, 
but consented on IMrs. Jones promising to be on the 
alert. She accordingly volunteered her two boys, one 
of eight years and the other six, for out-post duty, 
charging them strictly to notify her immediately if 
they saw any one approaching, so that she might con- 



290 SWORD AND PEN. 

ceal the fugitives. Auntie then promptly placed before^ 
them a bountiful supply of hoe-cake and parched corn, 
the* best her humble cot afforded, and most welcome to 
the famished men. 

Jones returned at the appointed hour, but informed 
his guests that, while very willing to guide them, he 
was not sufficiently acquainted with the safest route to 
do so ; and referred them to a friend of his, who would 
accompany them, and whom he could strongly recom- 
mend as a competent and safe guide. On visiting this 
man he also pleaded ignorance of any safe route ; but 
mentioned the name of still another ^' friend of the 
Yankees," who, he said, had come up from the Union 
lines that morning and would willingly return with 
them. This friendly negro also was found. He was a 
genuine negro, as black as ebony and very devout in 
his mode of speech. His name was ^^ March Dasher." 
*'I'll do it, massa, if God be my helper!" he answered 
to their eager inquiry. 

Glazier and his comrade were impatient to start at 
once, but upon this point Dasher was inexorable. 
" Dis chile knows whar de pickets is in de day-time," 
he emphatically declared, " but knows nuffin 'bout 'em 
arter dark ; " and absolutely declined to take the risk 
of falling within the Confederate lines — an act of pru- 
dence and firmness for which he was to be much com- 
mended. 

A fear of treachery was aroused when Dasher tried 
to induce them to remain in his hut till morning, but 
this was immediately and entirely removed when he 
and his household at a signal, fell on their knees, and 
joined in simple but fervent prayer to the Almighty, 
as a friend of the friendless — beseeching Him to pro- 



MARCH DASHER. 291 

tect and prosper tliem in their efforts to flee from their 
enemies; and much more of a nature to disarm any 
suspicion of their fidelity and good-will to the Union 
cause. 

Our friends, however, declined to remain in the hut, 
fearing a surprise from the outpost ; and {ft the conclu- 
sion of the prayer, betook themselves to a pine thicket 
with the joint resolution of giving their dark friend no 
peace until he started with them to the Federal lines. 

About one o'clock in the morning, Wright, impa- 
tient of delay, proceeded to the hut, and arousing 
Dasher, told him that day had just begun to break. He 
came to the. door, and pointing to the stars in the 
unclouded sky, remarked, with a good-tempered smile, 
" I reckon it's good many hours yet till break ob day, 
massa. Yer can't fool March on detime; his clock 
neber breaks down. It's jest right ebery time." 
Wright returned to his lair in the thicket, remarking 
irritably, as he threw himself down, "Glazier, you 
might as well undertake to move a mountain, as to get 
the start of that colored individual!'' 

At the first peep of dawn, punctual to his promise, 
Dasher thrust his black, good-humored face into the 
thicket, and announced: 

" Now I'ze ready, gemmeri, to take you right plum 
into Mr. Slierman's company by ^sun-up;'" and as Sol 
began to gild the tree-tops and the distant eastern hills, 
the trio came within sight of the Federal camp, and 
witnessed the "Stars and Stripes," floating triumph- 
antly in the breeze! 

What pen can describe their emotions, when — after 
more than fourteen long mouths' suffering from im- 
prisonment, starvation, nakedness, bodily and mental 



292 SWORD AND PEN, 

prostration, and every inhumanity short of being mur- 
dered, like many of their imprisoned comrades, in cold 
blood — they again lialled friends and found freedom at 
last within their grasp! Words would fail to tell their 
joy. Let us leave it to the reader to imagine. 

On first approaching the camp they were supposed, 
by their motley attire, to be deserters from the enemy; 
and, as true soldiers and deserters never fraternize, no 
signal of welcome was offered by tlie "boys in blue." 
The suspicions of the latter, however, were allayed on 
seeing Glazier and his companion wave their caps : 
then they were beckoned to come forward. And when 
it was discovered that they were escaped prisoners, an 
enthusiastic grip was given to each by every soldier 
present, accompanied by cordial congratulations on 
their successful escape from the barbarous enemy who 
had had them in custody. 

"Each man," writes Glazier, "took us by the hand, 
congratulating us on our eventful and successful escape, 
while we cheered the boys for the glorious w^ork they 
had accomplished for the Union. Haversacks were 
opened and placed at our disposal. There was a great 
demand for hard-tack and coffee ; but the beauty of it 
all was. Major Turner was not there, to say what he 
often repeated, ^Reduce their rations; I'll teach the 
d — d scoundrels not to attempt to escape ! ' 

"I cannot forget," he adds, "the sea of emotion 
that well-nigh overwhelmed me, as soon as I could 
realize the fact that I was no longer a prisoner, and 
especially when J beheld the starry banner floating tri- 
umphantly over the invincibles who had followed their 
great General down to the sea." 

Our hero and his friend became objects of much 



AT KILPATRICK'S HEADQUARTERS. 293 

curiosity, while their eventful escape was the subject 
of general conversation and comment by the brave 
boys who pressed around them, and who proved to be a 
detachment of the One Hundred and First Illinois Vol- 
unteers, Twentieth Army Corps. Their most intimate 
friends would have failed to recognize them. Glazier 
was clad in an old gray jacket and blue pants, with a 
venerable and dilapidated hat which had seen a pro- 
digious amount of service of a nondescript kind; while 
a tattered gray blanket that had done duty for many a 
month as a bed by day and a cloak by night, and was 
now in the last stage of dissolution from age and gen- 
eral infirmity, completed his unmilitary and unpreten- 
tious toilet. Having at first no one to identify them, 
Glazier and his companion were as strangers among 
friends, and necessarily without official recognition. At 
length, however, after much searching, they found 
Lieutenant Wright's old company, and thus the 
refugees became officially identified and recognized 
as Federal officers. 

In company with Lieutenant E. H. Fales, who had 
been his fellow-prisoner at Charleston, and effiL'cted his 
escape, Glazier proceeded on horseback to the head- 
quarters of Geperal Kilpatrick. The General, cordi- 
ally welcoming and congratulating Glazier on his 
happy escape, at once furnished him with the docu- 
ments necessary to secure his transportation to the 
North. His term of service having expired, he was 
anxious to revisit his family, who thought him dead, 
and bidding an affectionate adieu to his friend Wright, 
he and Lieutenant Fales embarked on a steamship on 
December twenty-ninth for home. After experiencing 
the effects of a severe storm at sea, the vessel arrived at 



294 SWORD AND PEN. 

the wharf of the metropolis, and our hero adds: "I 
awoke to the glorious realization that I was again 
breathing the air of my native State, ^^here was an 
exhilarating rapture in the thought, which I can 
never repress, and that moment was fixed as a golden 
era in my memory. I hope never to become so hard- 
ened that that patriotic and Christian exultation will 
be an unpleasant recollection." 

There have probably been few hearts that beat 
higher with martial ardor, than that of AVillard Glazier; 
but at that moment the thought of ^^ Battle's red car- 
nival " was merged in the gentler recollection of kin- 
dred and friendS;, rest and home. 



CHAPTER XXYI. 

GLAZIER RE-ENTERS THE SERVICE. 

Glazier's determination to re-enter the army. — Letter to Colonel 
Harhaus. — Testimonial from Colonel Clarence Buel. — Letter from 
Hon. Martin L Townsend to governor of New York. — Letter 
from General Davies. — Letter from General Kilpatrick. — Ap- 
plication for new commission successful. — Home. — The mother 
fails to recognize her son. — Supposed to be dead. — Recognized by 
his sister Marjorie. — Filial and fraternal love. — Reports himself 
to his commanding officer for duty. — Close of the war and of 
Glazier's military career. — Seeks a new object in life. — An idea 
occurs to him. — Becomes an author, and finds a publisher. 

HOME, with its rest, its peaceful enjoyments and 
endearments, was no abiding place for our 
young soldier while his bleeding country still battled 
for the right, and called upon her sons for self-denying- 
service in her cause. He had registered a vow to 
remain in the army until relieved by death, or the 
termination of the war. His heart and soul were in 
the Union cause, and finding that at the expiration of 
his term of service he had been mustered out, he had 
determined before proceeding to his home to apply for 
another commission, and, if possible, resume his place 
at the front. 

The following letter, which* we think stamps his 
earnest loyalty to the cause he had espoused, and for 
which he had already suffered so much, was addressed 
to his friend and patron : 



296 SWORD AND PEN. 

AsTOR House, New York, \ 
January 10th, 1865. ) 
Colonel Otto Hariiaus, 

Late of tlie Harris Light Cavalry: 

Dear Colonel: Having reached our lines, an escaped prisoner, 
on the twenty-third of last month, I at once took steps to ascertain 
my position in the old regiment, and regret to say, was informed at 
the war department that as my term of service expired during my 
imprisonment ; and, as I had not remustered previous to capture, I 
am now regarded supernumerary. I wish to remain in ihe service 
until the close of the war, and so expressed myself hefore I fell into 
the h mds of the enemy. Fourteen months in rebel prisons has not 
increased my respect for "Southern chivalry" — in short I have 
some old scores to settle. 

I write, colonel, to ascertain if you will be kind enough to advise 
me as to what steps I had better take to secure a new commission 
in the Cavalry Corps, and to ask if you will favor me with a letter 
of recommendation to Governor Fenton. It was suggested to me 
at Washington that I should place my case before him, and if I con- 
clude to do so, such a note from you will be of great value. 

I learn through Captain Downing that I was commissioned a 
first lieutenant upon your recommendation soon after my capture. 
If so, I avail myself of this opportunity to acknowledge my deep 
appreciation of the favor, and to thank you very cordially for remem- 
bering me at a time when I was entirely dependent upon your im- 
partial decisions for proper advancement in your command. 

I made my escape from the rebel prison at Columbia, South 
Carolina, November twenty -sixth, 1864, was recaptured December 
fifteenth by a Confederate outpost near Springfield, Georgia ; escaped 
a second time the following day and was retaken by a detachment 
of Texan cavalry under General Wheeler ; was tried as a spy at 
Springfield ; escaped a third time from Sylvania on the nineteenth 
of December, and reached the Federal lines near Savannah, four 
days later, and twenty-eight days after the escape from Columbia. 
I wasat General Kilpatrick's head<juarters on theOgeechee, Decem- 
ber twenty-sixth. The general was in the most exuberant spirits, 
and entertained me with stories of the great march from Atlanta to 
the sea. He desired to be remembered to all the oflicers and men 
of his old cavalry division in Virginia. 

I expect to muster out of service to-day, and if so, shall start this 
evening for my home in Northern New York, which 1 have not 
vi>*ite<l since entering the army three years ago. 



COLONEL CLARENCE BUEL, 297 

Soliciting a response at your earliest convenience, 
I have the honor to remain, Colonel, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
WiLLARD Glazier. 

Impatient of delay in the gratification of his ardent 
and patriotic desire to rejoin the army, Glazier also 
addressed an earnest letter to Hon. M. I. Townsend, 
of his native State, accompanying it with the following 
glowing testimonial from his late superior officer and 
companion in arms, Colonel Clarence Buel : 

Saratoga Springs, New York, \ 
February Uth, 1865. J 

Hon. Martin I. Townsend: 

Dear Sir: It is with great pleasure that I introduce to your 
acquaintance my friend Lieutenant Willard Glazier. He entered 
the service as a private in my company in the "Harris Light 
Cavalry," and was promoted for services in the field to his present 
rank. I considered him one of the very best and most promising 
young officers whom I knew, and his career has only strengthened 
my opinion of his merits. After a period of long and gallant ser- 
vice in the field he had the misfortune to be taken prisoner in a 
desperate cavalry fight, and he has but recently returned home after 
escaping from a terrible confinement of more than a year in the 
prison pens at Richmond, Danville, Macon, Savannah, Charleston, 
and Columbia. I wish you would take time to hear the modest 
recital which he makes of his experience in Southern prisons, and 
of his escape; and I feel sure you will agree with me, that he is 
worthy of any interest you may take in him. 

He is desirous of re-entering the service as soon as he can procure 
a commission in any way equal to his deserts; and 1 told him that 
I knew of no one who could give him more valuable aid than your- 
self in his patriotic purpose. I do most cordially commend him to 
your consideration, and shall esteem anything you may do for him 
as a great personal favor.* With very sincere regards, 

I am, your obedient friend and servant, 

Clarence Buel. 

Hon. Martin I. Townsend, on receipt of Colonel 
Duel's flattering introduction, at ouce interested him- 



298 SWORD AND PEN, 

self in Glazier's behalf; and after fully investigating 
his previous record handed him the following to the 
Governor of New York State : 

Troy, New York, ") 
February loth, 1865. J 
His Excellency R. E. Fenton, Governor of New York : 

Dear Sir : WiUard Glazier, late of the " Harris Liglit Cavalry," 
and who served with honor as a lieutenant in that regiment, is a 
most excellent young patriot, and has many well-wishers in our city. 
He desires to enter the service again. 1 take the liberty to solicit 
for him a commission. No appointment would be more popular 
here, and I undertake to say, without hesitation, that I know of no 
more deserving young officer. His heart was always warm in the 
service, and he now has fifteen months of most barbarous cruelty, 
practised on him while a prisoner, to avenge. 

Very respectfully yours, 
Martin I. Townsend. 

His former commanders, Generals H. E. Davies and 
Judson Kilpatrick, also bore their willing testimony to 
the qualifications and merits of our young subaltern in 
the following handsome manner ; 

Headquarters, First Brigade, Cavalry Division,^ 
Near Culpepper, \' a., >■ 

February 16/A, 1865. j 
To His Excellency Hon. R. E. Fenton : 

Lieutenant Willard Glazier, formerly of the Second New York 
Cavalry, served in the legiment under my immediate command, for 
more than two years, until his capture by the enemy. 

He joined the regiment as an enlisted man, and served in that 
capacity with courage and ability, and for good conduct was recom- 
mended for and received a commission as second lieutenant. As 
an officer he did his duty well, and on several occasions behaved 
with great gallantry, and with good judgment. Owing to a long 
imprisonment, I learn he has been rendered supernumerary in his 
regiment, and mustered out of service. I can recommend hira 
highly as an officer, and as well worthy to receive a commission. 

Very respectfully, 

H. E. Davies, Jr., 
Brigadier-General U. S. Volunteers 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 299 

Headquarters Cavalry Command, M. D. M., \ 
Near Savannah, Georgia, December 27lh, 1864. / 
Lieutenant Willard Glazier, 
Harris Liglit Cavalry : 
Lieutenant: I take great pleasure in expressing to you my 
high appreciation of your many soldierly qualities. I well remem- 
ber the fact that you were once a private in the old regiment I 
had the honor to command ; and that by attention to duty and good 
conduct a/one, you received promotion. You have my best wishes 
for your future advancement, and may command my influence at 
all times. Very respectfully and truly yours, 

JUDSON KiLPATRICK, 

Brigadier-General, U. S. Volunteers. 

His application was crowned with success, and upon 
the twenty-fifth of February, 1865, he received his 
commission as First Lieutenant in the Twenty-sixth 
Regiment, New York Cavalry. 

Not until this important matter was satisfactorily 
arranged would our young lieutenant turn his face to- 
wards home. He had been absent about three years, 
and a rej)ort had reached his family that he had died 
in prison at Columbia. 

With his commission in his pocket, he now allowed 
thoughts of home to occupy his mind, and proceeded 
thither without the loss of a moment. On reaching 
the homestead which had been the scene of his birth, 
and of the adventures of his boyhood, he knocked and 
entered, and his mother met him at the threshold. 
Three years between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, 
especially after vicissitudes and sufferings such as he 
had endured, effect changes in the features and height 
and general appearance, much more pronounced than 
a similar interval would produce at a later or an earlier 
period of life. The mother did not recognize her son; 
and seeing this, he did not announce himself, but in- 
quired if any news had recently been received of her 



300 SWORD AND PEN. 

son Willard, who, he said, was in the same regiment 
as himself. She answered that, her son was dead — she 
had seen his name in the death-record of the prison of 
Columbia, and asked earnestly concerning him. By 
this time his sister jNIarjorie, with three years added to 
her stature, but still in her teens, entered the room, 
and, looking fixedly at the stranger's solemn counte- 
nance, exclaimed, with a thrilling outcry : " Why, that's 
Will!" The spell was broken, and mother and son, 
sister and brother, amid smiles and sobs, embraced, and 
the young soldier, *'who was dead and is alive," was 
welcomed to the fond hearts of those who had grieved 
over his loss. 

Filial and fraternal love was a trait in Glazier's 
character which claims a few words. A dutiful son 
and an affectionate brother, he had never neglected an 
opportunity of assisting and furthering the interests of 
his family. Before entering the army he had con- 
tributed of his scant earnings as a teacher towards the 
education of his three sisters, and during his service 
in the war had, from time to time, as he received his 
pay, made remittances home for the same unselfish 
purpose. On being mustered out of the army, the 
government had paid him the sum of |500, and this 
sum he now generously handed over to his parents to be 
also expended in perfecting the education of his sisters. 

Lieutenant Glazier now hastened to report himself 
to the commanding officer of his regiment, and dis- 
played all his wonted energy and devotion to the cause 
of the Union. He served faithfully and honorably 
until the mighty hosts of the Federal army melted 
back into quiet citizenship, with nothing to distinguish 
them from other citizens but their scars and the proud 



A NEW CAREER. 301 

consciousness of having served and saved their 

COUNTRY. 

This brief history of the military career of a remark- 
able man would not be complete without some account 
of his life subsequent to the dissolution of the great 
army of volunteers. Willard Glazier's conduct as a 
soldier formed an earnest of his future good citizenship 
— his devotion to duty at the front, a foreshadow of his 
enterprise and success in the business of life. 

Having been honorably mustered out, he lost no 
time in looking about for an occupation. Joining the 
volunteer army when a mere youth, his opportunities 
of learning a profession had been very limited, and he 
consequently now found himself without any permanent 
means of support. His education had been necessarily 
interrupted by the breaking out of the war, and his 
chief anxiety, now that the struggle was over, was to 
enter college and complete his studies. 

This desire was very intense in our young citizen- 
soldier, and absorbed all his thoughts; but where to 
find the means for its accomplishment he was at a loss 
to discover. In ponderings upon this subject from 
day to day, an idea suddenly occurred to him, which 
formed an epoch in his life, and the development of 
which has proved it to have been the basis of a suc- 
cessful and useful career. The idea that has borne 
fruit was this: During the period of his service in the 
war he had kept a diary. Herein he had recorded his 
experiences from day to day, adding such brief com- 
ments as the events called for, and time and oppor- 
tunity permitted. This diary he always kept upon his 
person, and while on a long and hurried march, or in 



302 SWORD AND PEN. 

a battle with the enemy, liis imde mecum would be, 
of necessity, occasionally neglected, no sooner did the 
opportunity offer than his mind wandered back over 
the few days' interval since the previous entry, and 
each event of interest was duly chronicled. Again 
during the period of his confinement in Southern 
prisons, sick, and subjected to most inhuman treat- 
ment and privation, and while escaping from his brutal 
captors, concealed in the swamps during the day, tired, 
hungry, and cold, his diary was never forgotten, albeit, 
the entries were frequently made under the greatest 
difficulties, such as to most men would have proved 
insurmountable. 

This journal was now in his possession. He had 
stirred the souls of relatives and friends by reading 
from it accounts of bloody scenes through which he 
had passed ; of cruelties practised upon him and his 
brother-patriots in Southern bastiles; of his various 
attempts to escape, and pursuit by blood-hounds and 
their barbarous masters. The story of his war ex- 
periences entranced hundreds of eager listeners around 
his home, and the idea that now occurred to him, while 
anxiously pondering the ways and means of paying 
his college fees, was, that his story might possibly, by 
the aid of his diary, be arranged in the form of a 
book, and if he were fortunate enough to find a sale for 
it, the profits would probably furnish the very thing 
he stood so much in need of. 

Prompt in everything, the thought no sooner occurred 
to the young candidate for college honors than he pro- 
ceeded to reduce it to action. He forthwith com- 
menced arranging the facts and dates from the diary; 
constructed sentences in plain Saxon English; the 



LITERARY WORK. 393 

work grew uj)on him ; lie " fought his battles o'er 
again;" was again captured, imprisoned and escaped; 
the work continued to grow, and at the end of six 
weeks' hard application, always keeping his object in 
view, Willard Glazier, the young cavalryman, found 
Jiimself an author — i. e., in manuscript. 

Not a little surprised and gratified to discover that 
he possessed the gift of putting liis thoughts in a 
readable form, he now felt hopeful that the day was 
not distant when the desire of his soul to enter col- 
lege would be realized. 
23 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

CAREER AS AN AUTHOR. 

Glazier in search of a piil)lisl)er for " Capture, Prison-Pen and E-^- 
cape." — Spends h\^ \i\<\ dolh-ir. — Lieutenant Richardson a friend 
in need,— Joel iMiinsell, of Albany, consents to publish. — The 
author solicits subscriptions for his work before publication. — 
Succeeds — Captain Hampton. — R. II. Fer^wson. — (Japtain F. C. 
Lord.— Publication and sale of first edition. — (Jreat success. — 
Pays his publisher in fulL— Still greater successes.— Finally 
attains an enormous sale.— Style of the work. — Extracts.^ 
Opinions of the press. 

STILL very young, and knowing nothing of the 
trade of the Publisher, Ghizier found his way to 
the Empire City, and, manuscript in hand, presented 
himself before some of her leading publishers — among 
them, the Harpers, Appletons, Carleton, Sheldon and 
others. 

To these gentlemen lie showed his manuscript, and 
received courteous recognition from each; but the 
terras they offered were not of a character to tempt 
him. They would publish his book and pay him a 
small royalty on their sales. His faith in his manuscript 
led him to expect more substantial results. The sul)- 
ject of the work was one of absorbing interest at the 
time, and if he had handled it ))r()j)erly, he knew the 
book must meet with a commensurate sale. He there- 
fore determined, if possible, to find a publisher willing 
to make it to his order, and leave him to manipulate 
the sale himself. He was already in i)ossessioii of many 
(304) 



ARTHUR RIGTTARDSON. 305 

unsolicited orders for it, and although knowing noth- 
ing of the subscription-book business, determined that, 
when printed, his book shoidd be brought out by sub- 
scription. 

Meanwhile, he was, unfortunately, like many incip- 
ient authors, without capital, and could uot there- 
fore remain longer in New York for lack of means, 
having literally nothing left wherewith to defray even 
his board or procure a lodging. He was, consequently, 
compelled to leave if he could obtain the means of 
doing so. He had arrived in New York with sanguine 
expectations of readily meeting with a publisher, but 
discovered, from bitter experience, as many others 
have done, that authors and ])ublishers not unfre- 
quently view their interests from divergent points. 
Courteous but cool, they offered the unknown author 
little encouragement, who, but for this, would have 
made the metropolis the starting-point in his success- 
ful literary career. 

At this juncture he called on Lieutenant Arthur 
Richardson, an old comrade of the " Harris Light,'' 
who had also been his fellow-prisoner, and was then 
residing in New York. To him he confided his diffi- 
culty in finding a [)ublisher for his book, and his 
extremely straitened circumstances, at the same time 
stating his strong wMsh to return, if possible, to Albany, 
where he was known. Without ceremony and without 
conditions Richardson generously handed him twenty 
dollars, and, with this godsend in hand, Glazier at once 
returned to Albany. 

Arrived in the capital of his native State, he lost no 
time in calling on the bookmen of that city, and among 
them, fortunately, on Mr. Joel Munsell, of 82 State 



306 SWORD AM) PEN. 

Street. TJiis gentleman, well known for his learning 
and j)robity throughout the State, and far beyond its 
limits, combined the profession of an author with the 
more lucrative one of j)nblisher and bookseller, and was 
j)re-eminently in good standing as a worthy citizen and 
man of business. 

Glazier introduced himself, and once more produced 
Jiis fateful manus('rij)t for inspection. Mr. iNIunsell 
glanced at it through hisglasi^es, and candidly admitted 
the subject to be one of great interest, adding that he 
also thought the manuscript was carefully written, and 
spoke in general complimentary terms of the author 
and his production. 

Glazier, elated with this praise, at once asked to have 
the work stereotyped and made into a book of some 
four hundred pages, with ten illustrations. Mr. Mun- 
sell would be only too ready to fill the order, but 
politely suggested, as a preliminary condition, an 
advance of two hundred dollars ! Our author modestly 
confessed, without hesitation, that he was not worth 
two hundred cents; had no means of obtaining such a 
sum, and could thereiore advance nothing. The worthy 
old gentleman was startled, and answered that such 
was the custom oi' the trade. He then inquired if 
Glazier had any friends who would endorse a note for 
the amount at thirty days. Tiie re])ly was that he had 
none; that he would exert himself to obtain a small sum 
from army friends, and if he succeeded, would hand it 
over to him; that his only capital at j)resent was 
his conduct and charactei* as a soldier, lor testimony to 
which he would refer to his late commanding officer, 
"and," he added, 'M'aith in the success of my book." 
He further offered to solicit subscri])tions for the book 
himself before publication, and report the result to the 
publisher. 



JOEL MUNSELL. 307 



igenu- 



Mr. Munsell, pleased with liis appearance and in< 
onsncss, hinted at the puicliase of the manuscript, but 
the proposal being respectfully declined, inquired, if the 
^vriter undertook to sell the book himself, would he 
''stick to it." ''Yes!" was the emphatic answer, 
" until everything is fully paid for." 

The reply of iMunsell was equally prompt and 
decisive: "I have never in all the years I have been 
in business published a work under such circumstances, 
but J will (jet that book out for your Glazier thanked 
the worthy man, and ex})ressed a hope that he would 
never have occasion to regret his generous deed ; he 
would place the manuscript in his hands forthwith. 

He then set out to solicit subscriptions for his 
work, and without prospectus, circular, or any of the 
usual paraphernalia of a solicitor— with nothing but 
his own unbupi)orted representations of the quality of 
his projected book, succeeded in obtaining a very 
considerable number of orders. These he hastened 
to hand over to Joel Munsell, who was now con- 
firmed in his good opinion of the writer, and the 
promising character of the venture. 

Thus our young soldier-author was fortunate enough 
to find a publisher and a friend in need. A contract 
was drawn up, and feeling that his prospects were now 
somewhat assured, he ventured to write *o his comrade, 
and late fellow-prisoner, Captain Hampton, of Ro- 
chester, New York, for the loan of fifty dollars. This 
sum was promptly sent him, and he at ooce handed it 
over to l.is pubHsher. Mr. R. H, FergiJison, late of 
the '^ Harris Light," also mneroudv c?.me forward to 
the assistance of his former comrade and tent-mate, and 
advanced him one hundred dollars to iieli> on the 
work. 



308 SWORD AND PEN. 

It may be stated here, that the friendship of Fergu- 
son and Glazier dated from before the war, while the 
latter, a mere youth, was teaching school near Troy, 
in Rensselaer County, New York : that together, on the 
summons to arms, they enlisted in the Harris Light 
Cavalry; together went to the seat of war; that both 
fell into the hands of the rebels and had experience 
of Southern prisons ; and that both effected their es- 
cape after the endurance of much suffering. Finally, 
their friendship and common career resulted in a busi- 
ness connection which was attended with considerable 
success, Mr. Ferguson having become the publisher 
of some of Captain Glazier's subsequent writings. 
Captain Frederick C. Lord, of Naugatuck, Connecticut, 
also contributed to Glazier's need, and enabled him by 
the opportune loan of twenty-five dollars to defray his 
board bill while waiting anxiously upon Munsell in 
the reading of proofs, and soliciting subscriptions in 
advance. 

To return to the first work of our young author, now 
in the hands of Joel Munsell, of Albany, which 
was entitled "The Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape;" 
the first edition consisted of five hundred coj)ies, which 
Glazier by his energy dis])osed of in a few days, hand- 
ing over the proceeds to the publisher. At the end of 
six months he had called for several editions of his 
book, and sold them all through the instrumentality 
of solicitors selected by himself, some of them maimed 
soldiers of the war, paid Mr. Munsell in full, and had 
himself three thousand dollars in hand. Success is the 
mother of success. 

Having prospered thus far beyond his expectations, 
he was anxious to add to his store. Visions of large 



"CAPTURE, PRISON- PEN AND ESCAPE:' 309 

sales over other territory than his native State of New 
York presented themselves to his eager mind; the 
book was [)urohased by the public as soon as it was 
published ; reviewers spoke in enthusiastic praise of 
its merits. It was not a pretentious work — the author 
was simply a young man and a patriot. But passages 
of great beauty and of painful interest pervaded it, al- 
ternated with vivid descriptions of battles in which the 
writer had himseli shared. A veteran author need not 
have been ashamed of many of its glowing pages. 
Lofty ])atriotism, heroic fortitude, and moral purity, 
characterized it throughout. 

The account given of the sufferings of our soldiers 
while in the prison-pens of the South, and of his own 
and his comrades' while eflecting their escape to the 
Federal lines, are so vividly jwrtrayed, that our feel- 
ings are intensely enlisted in their behalf, and our 
minds wander to their dreary abodes — in thought 
sharing their sufl'erings and their sorrows. 

Encouraged by his success in this new vocation our 
young author resolved, ibr the present at least, to post- 
j)one going to college, and devote himself to the sale 
of his book, by the simple agency before mentioned. 
This resolution cannot be considered surprising when 
we reflect upon the great amount of prosperity he had 
met with, and the prospect before him of attaining 
still greater advantage from a business upon which he 
had, by the merest accident, ventured. The college 
scheme was at length finally abandoned as the business 
continued to increase. "The Capture, Prison-Pen 
and Escape" ultimately reached the enormous sale of 
over four hundred thousand copies; larger by many 
thousands than that most extensively circulated and 



310 SWORD AND PEN. 

deservedly j)opular book, ^' Uncle Tom's Cabin," had 
ever attained to, inclusive of its sale in Europe. 

The first book written and published by AVillard 
Glazier is of a character to sur])rise us, when we con- 
sider the antecedxints of the writer up to the date of its 
piiblieation, December, 1865. Enlisting in the ranks 
of a cavalry regiment at the age of eighteen, during 
the exciting period of the civil war; a participant in 
many of its sanguinary battles ; captured by the enemy 
and imprisoned under circumstances of the greatest 
trial and discouragement, his position and surroundings 
were not a very promising school for the training of 
an author. The book he produced is, in our judg- 
ment, not unworthy of comparison with the immortal 
work of Defoe, with this qualification in our author's 
favor that ^'llobinson Crusoe" is a fiction, wliile 
Glazier's is a true story of real adventure undergone 
by the writer and his comrades of the Union army. 

His style in narrating his adventures is admirably 
adapted to the subject; while the simple, unpretentious 
manner in which he describes the terrible scenes he 
witnessed, and passed through, enlists the reader's in- 
terest in the work, and sympathy for the modest writer 
himself. By the publication of this book, Glazier 
stam^ied his name upon liis country's roll of honor, and 
at the same time laid the foundation of his fortune. 

As a specimen of his easy flowing style we give 
part of the opening chapter of "Capture, Prison-Pen 
and Escape : " 

"The first battle of Bull Run was fought July twenty- 
first, 18G1, and the shock of arms was felt throughout 
the land, carrying triumph to the South, and to the 
North dismay. Our ])roud and confident advance mto 



''CAPTURE, PRISON-PEN AND ESCAPED 311 

* Dixie' was not only checked, but turned into a dis- 
astrous rout. The patriotic but unwarlike enthusi- 
asm of the country, which had hoped to crush the 
rebellion with seventy-five thousand men, was tempo- 
rarily stifled. But the chilling was only like that of 
the first stealthy drops of tlie thunder-gust upon a 
raging fire, which breaks out anew and with increased 
vigor when the tempest fans it with its fury, and now 
burns in spite of a deluge of rain. The chill had 
passed and the fever was raging. From the great cen- 
tres of national life went forth warm currents of 
renovating public opinion, which reached the farthest 
hamlet on our frontiers. Every true man was grasp- 
ing the stirring questions of the day, and was 
discussing them with his family at his own fireside, 
and the rebellion was just as surely doomed as when 
Grant received the surrender of Lee's army. In a 
deeper and broader sense than before, the country 
was rising to meet the emergency, and northern 
patriotism, now thoroughly aroused, was sweeping 
everything before it. Everywhere resounded the cry, 

* To arms! 'and thousands upon thousands were re- 
sponding to the President's call. 

"It was under these circumstances that I enlisted, as 
a private soldier, at Troy, New York, on the sixth day 
of August, in a company raised by Captain Clarence 
Buel, for the Second Regiment of New York Cavalry. 
It is needless to make elaborate mention of the motives 
which induced me to enter the service, or the emotions 
which then filled my breast; they can be readily con- 
jectured by every loyal heart." 

The Press, throughout the North (and West, as far 
as )ts circulation had reached), spoke very highly of the 



312 SWORD AND PEN. 

production and of its author, all bearing the same tes- 
timony to its excellence and truthfulness. The Albany 
Evening Post says : 

"'The Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape' is tlie title of an in- 
tensely interesting work, giving a complete history of prison-life in 
the South. The book is at once accurate, graphic and admirably 
written. It is full of adventure, and quite as readable as a romance. 
A person who reads this volume will have a better idea of what it 
cost in the way of blood, suffering and courage, to preserve the Re- 
public, than he can now possibly entertain." 

The Cleveland Daily Leader writes : 

" We have had the pleasure of reading this book. It describes, 
in the most graphic and interesting style, the prison-life of Union 
soldiers in the South, their plans of escape, and their various trials 
and hardships there. The history contained in the book is very 
valuable. The Press, all over the land, speaks very highly of it, 
and we can do naught but add our commendations to the rest." 

The New York Reformer exclaims : 

" From the title-page to its close, the volume is full of fresh inci- 
dents, attracting the reader on, from page to page, with unbroken, 
though at times with melancholy, at others indignant, and at others 
wrathful, interest." 



T 



CHAPTER XXYIII. 

"THREE YEARS IN THE FEDERAL CAVALRY/' 

Another work by Captain Glazier.—" Three Years in the Federal 
Cavalry."— Daring deeds of the Liglit Dragoons.— Extracts from 
the work.— Night attack on Falmouth Heights.— Kilpatrick's 
stratagem.— Flight of the enemy.— Capture of Falmouth.— Burial 
of Lieutenant Decker.— Incidents at " Brandy Station."—" Harris 
Light" and "Tenth New York."— " Men of Maine, you must 
save the day ! "—Position won.— Some Press reviews of the 
work. 

IHE combined industry and intellect of our soldier- 
^ author had, in the meantime, produced another 
book of equal merit with his first. This he named, 
''Three Years in the Federal Cavalry." It is a work 
of thrilling interest, and contains much of history 
relating to the Civil War, and more especially to the 
cavalry service. It was the opinion of Captain Gla- 
zier that the Union cavalry had never been properly 
appreciated, and for this reason he took up his pen in 
its defense. He narrates the daring deeds of our Light 
Dragoons, their brilliant achievements during the first 
three eventful years of the war; and his own personal 
experiences are pictured with a vividness of color and 
an enthusiasm of manner which carry the reader 
straight to the field of action. 

We quote the following brief but graphic description 
of the opening of the great Rebellion, as a specim&u of 
the style of this second product of his intellect: 

(313) 



314 SWORD AND FEN. 

"The eleventh of April, 18G1, revealed the real 
intention of the Sonthern people in their nnj)rovoke(l 
assault u[)on Fort Siinipter. The thunder of rebel can- 
non shook the air not only around Charleston, but sent 
its thrilling vibrations to the remotest sections of the 
country, and was the precursor of a storm whose wrath 
ro one anticipated. This shock of arms was like a 
fire-alarm in our great cities, and the North arose in 
its might with a grand unanimity which the South did 
not expect. The spirit and principle of rebellion 
were so uncaused and unprovoked, that scarcely 
could any one be found at home or abroad to justify 
then). 

^^ President Lincoln thereupon issued a call for 
seventy-fiv^e thousand men to uphold and vindicate the 
authority of the government, and to prove, if possible, 
that secession was not only a heresy in doctrine, but an 
impracticability in the American Republic. The 
response to this call was much more general than the 
most sanguine had any reason to look for. The enthusi- 
asm of the [)eople was quite unbounded. Individuals 
encouraged individuals; families aroused families; 
communities vied with communities, and States strove 
with States. Who could be the first and do the most, 
was the noble contention which everywhere prevailed. 
All political party lines seemed to be obliterated. 
Under this renovating and inspiring spirit the woik 
of raising the nucleus of the grandest army that ever 
«5wept a continent went bravely on. Regiments were 
rapidly organized, and as rapidly as possible sent for- 
ward to the seat of government; and so vast was the 
number that presented themselves for their country's 
defence, that the original call was soon more than 



''THREE YEARS IN THE CAVALRY:' 315 

filled, and the authorities found themselves unable to 
accept many organizations which were eager to press 
into the fray. 

"Meanwhile the great leaders of the rebellion were 
marshalling the hordes of treason, and assembling 
them on the plains of Manassas, with the undoubted 
intention of moving upon the national capital. This 
point determined the principal theatre of the opening 
contest, and around it on every side, and particularly 
southward, was to be the ace Ida ma of America, the 
dreadful ' field of blood,' 

"The first great impulse of the authorities was in 
the direction of self-defence, and Washington was 
fortified and garrisoned. This done, it was believed 
that the accumulating forces of the Union, which 
had become thoroughly equipped and somewhat dis- 
ciplined, ought to advance into the revolted Territory, 
scatter the defiant hosts of the enemy, and put a speedy 
end to the slave-holders' rebellion." 

Again we quote a description of an incident of the 
cavalry fight at Brandy Station : 

"At a critical moment, when the formidable and 
ever increasing hosts of the enemy were driving our 
forces from a desirable position we sought to gain, and 
when it seemed as though disaster to our arms would 
be fatal, Kilpatrick's battle-flag was seen advancing, 
followed by the tried squadrons of the ^ Harris Light,' 
the ' Tenth New York,' and the ' First Maine.' In 
echelons of squadrons his brigade was quickly formed, 
and he advanced, like a storm-cloud, upon the rebel 
cavalry, which filled the field before him. The * Tenth 
New York ' received the first shock of the rebel charge, 
but was hurled back, though not in confusion. The 
24 



316 SWOBD AND PEN, 

* Harris Light ' met with no better success, and, not- 
withstanding their prestige and power, they were re- 
pulsed under the very eye o£ their chief, whose excite- 
ment at the scene was well-nigh uncontrollable. His 
flashing eye now turned to the * First Maine,' a regi- 
ment composed mostly of heavy, sturdy men, who had 
not been engaged as yet during the day; and, riding to 
the head of the column, he shouted, * Men of Maine, 
you must save the day ! Follow me!' With one si- 
multaneous war-cry these giants of the North moved 
i()rward in one solid mass upon the flank of the rebel 
columns. The shock was overwhelming, and the op- 
posing lines crumbled like a * bowing wall' before this 
wild rash of prancing horses, gleaming sabres, and 
rattling balls. 

" On rode Kilpatrick, with the * men of Maine,' and, 
on meeting the two regiments of his brigade, which had 
been repulsed, and were returning from the front, the 
General's voice rang out like trumpet notes, above the 
din of battle, ' Rack, the " Harris Light !" Back, the 
"Tenth New York!" Reform your squadrons and 
charge I ' With magical alacrity the order was obeyed, 
and the two regiments, which had been so humbled by 
their first reverse, now rushed into the fight with a 
spirit and success which redeemed them from censure, 
and accounted them worthy of their gallant leader. The 
commanding position was won ; a battery, lost in a 
previous charge, was re-captured, and an effectual blow 
was given to the enemy, which greatly facilitated the 
movements which followed." 

From numerous press notices, eulogistic of this 
work, which appeared shortly after its publication, we 
select the following from the Chicago Times: 



"THREE YEARS IN THE CAVALRY:' 317 

" For the thousands of warriors who entered upon life too late to 
participate in the war of the rebellion ; for the thousands who en- 
tered upon life too soon to be permitted a sight of its glorious and 
hideous scenes; for the thousands who snuffed the smoke of battle 
from afar ; no better book could have been produced than this 
'Three Years in the Federal Cavalry.' ... It tells them in 
thrilling and glowing language of the most exciting j)hases of the 
contests. . . . It is a book that will thrill the heart of every old 
soldier who reads its historic pages. . . . The author carries 
his readers into every scene which he depicts. Throughout the 
book one is impressed with the idea that he saw all that he de- 
scribes. . . . The triumphs, the despondencies, the sufferings, 
the joys of the troops, are feelingly and vigorously painted. . . . 
His book is a noble tribute to the gallant horsemen, who have too 
often been overlooked." 

The Syracuse Hei^ald remarks : 

"Among the newest, and we may truly say the best of the books 
on the civil war, is a work by the widely-known -author. Captain 
Willard Glazier, entitled ' Three Years in the Federal Cavalry.' 
. . . Its pages teem with word-painting of hair-breadth escapes, 
of marches, of countermarches, bivouacs and battles witiiout num- 
ber. Stirring memories of Brandy Station, Chantilly, Antietam, 
Fredericksburg, Yorktown, Falmouth and Gettysburg, are roused by 
the masterly raconteur, until in October, 1864, just beyond New Bal- 
timore, the gallant captain was captured, and for a year languished 
in ' durance vile.' The interest in the narrative never flags, but 
rather increases with each succeeding page. For those who love to 
fight their battles o'er again, or those who love to read of war's 
alarms, this volume will prove most welcome." 

The New York Tribune is 

"Sure that 'Three Years in the Federal Cavalry' will meet with 
the same generous reception from the reading public that has been 
given to the former works of this talented young author. The fact 
that Captain Glazier was an eye-witness and participant in the 
thrilling scenes of which he writes, lends additional interest to the 
work." 



318 SWOED AND PEN. 

The New York Star says : 

"'Three' Years in tlie Federal Cavalry' brings to light many 
daring deeds upon llie part of the Union iieroes, that liave never yet 
been recorded, and gives an insight into the conduct of the war 
whicli historians, who write but do not fight, could not possibly give. 
It is full of incident, and one of the most interesting books upon the 
war that we have read." 



From the New York Globe we cull the following : 

" To a returned soldier nothing is more welcome than conversation 
touching his experience ' in the field' with his companions, and next 
to this a good book written by one who has known ' how it is himself,' 
and who recounts vividly the scenes of strife through which he has 
passed. Such a work is 'Three Years in the Federal Cavalry.' 
Captain Glazier's experiences are portrayed in a manner at once in- 
teresting to the veteran, and instructive and entertaining to those 
who have but snuffed the battle from afar. An old soldier will 
never drop this book for an instant, if he once begins it, until every 
word has been read. There is an air of truth pervading every page 
which chains the veteran to it imtil he is stared in the face with 
* Finis.' The details and influences of camp-life, the preparations 
for active duty, the weary marches to the battle-field, the bivouac at 
night, the fierce hand-to-hand strife, the hospital, the dying volun- 
ieer, the dead one — buried in his blanket by the pale light of the 
moon, far, far away from those he loves — the defeat and victory — 
every scene, in lact, familiar to the eye and ear of the 'boy in blue,' 
is here most truthfully and clearly photographed, and the soldier is 
once more transported back to the days of the rebellion. Captain 
Glazier's style is easy and explicit. He makes no endeavor to be 
poetic or eloquent, but tells his story in a straightforward manner, 
occasionally, however, approaching elocpience in spite of himself. 
We cheerfully and earnestly commend 'Three Years in the Federal 
Cavalry ' to the public as a most readable, entertaining and 
instructive volume." 

Among the manifold testimonials we have seen to 
the merits of this work, the following from the poetic 
pen of Mrs. Maud Louise Brainerd, of Elmira, New 
York, is at once beautiful and eloquent of praise, and 



320 SWORD AND PEN. 

must not therefore be omitted from the chaplet we are 
weaving for the brow of the * soldier-author:' 

*Have you heard of our Union Cavalry, 

As Glazier tells the story? 
Of the dashing boys of the * Cavalry CorpJ,* 
And their daring deeds of glory ? 

"This modest volume holds it all, 
Their brave exploits revealing, 
Told as a comrade tells the tale, 
With all a comrade's feeling. 

" The Union camp-fires blaze anew, 
Upon these fahhful pages, 
Anew we tremble while we read 
How hot the warfare rages. 

" We hear again the shock of arms, 
The cannon's direful thunder, 
And feel once more the wild suspense 
That then our hearts throbbed under. 

" The deeds of heroes live again 
Amid the battle crashes, 
As, Phoenix-like, the dead take form 
And rise from out their ashes. 

** Where darkest hangs the cloud and smoke^ 
Where weaker men might falter, 
The brave Phil Kearney lays his life 
Upon his country's altar. 

"' Kilpatrick's legions thunder by, 
With furious clang and clatter, 
Rushing where duty sternly leads, 
To life or death — no matter ! 

'* Oh, hero-warriors, patriots true ! 
Within your graves now lying, 
How bright on History's page to-daj 
Shines out your fame undying! 



''THREE YEARS IN THE CAVALRY:' 321 

'"The pomp and panoply of war 
Have vanished^ aJl the ghtter 
Of charging columns, marching hosts 
And baUles long and Wtter, 

** Recede with the receding year^ 

AV rapped in old Time's dim shadow; 

Where once the soil drunk patriot goie. 

Green, now, grow field and meado**. 

" But here the written record stands 
Of all that time of glory. 
And bright through every age sliall live 
These names In song and story. 

*" Willard Ci lazier wrote Uis name 

First in war's <lceds, then slipping 
His fingers otl' thesword, he found 
The mightier pen more fitting. 

"Kead but the book — 'twill summon back 
The spirits now immortal, 
Who bravely died for fatherland 
And passed the heavenly portal!" 

Such was the demand for tlie work that one hun- 
dred and seventy-five thousand copies of it were sold, 
and we may safely predicate that in the homes of thou- 
sands of veterans scattered all over the land, the book 
has been a source of profound interest in the lielp it 
has afforded them in recounting to family and friends 
the thrilling events of their war experience. 



CHi^PTER XXIX. 



•* Battles for the Union." — Extracts?. — Bull Kim. — Brandy Station. 
— Manassas, — Gettysburg. — Pittsburg Landing. — Surrender of 
General Lee. — Opinions of the press. — Philadelphia " North 
American." — Pittsburg "Commercial." — Chicago " Inter-Ocean." 
— Scranton "Republican." — Wilkes- Barre "Record of the 
Times." — Reading " Eagle." — Albany " Evening Journal." 

^^ T>ATTLES FOR THE UNION,"— published 
JLI by Dustin Gilman and Company, Hartford, 
Connecticut — was tlie next woriv timt emanated from 
our soldier author's prolific pen. The most stub- 
bornly contested battles of the great Rebellion herein 
find forcible and picturesque description. " I have en- 
deavored," Glazier writes in his preface to this in- 
teresting work, " in 'Battles for the Union' to present, 
in the most concise and simple form, the great con- 
tests in the war for the preservation of the Republic 
of the United States;" and as evidence of the man- 
ner in which this task was undertaken, we shall again 
})resent to tlie reader some passages from the work 
itself. 

As an illustration of descriptive clearness and force, 
combined with conciseness and simplicity of narra- 
tive, we present the opening of the chapter on Bull 
Run: 

" The field of Bull Run and the plains of Manassas 
v/ill never lose their interest for the imaginative young 
or the patriotic old ; for on this field and over these 
(322) 



"BATTLES FOR THE UNIONS' 323 

plains are scattered the bones of more than forty 
thousand brave men of both North and South, who 
have met in mortal combat and laid down their lives 
in defence of iheir principles. 

"On the twenty first of July, 18G1, was fought the 
battle of Bull Run, the first of a long series of engage- 
ments on these iiistoric plains. The battles of Bristoe, 
Groveton, Manassas, Centreville, and Chantilly suc- 
ceeded in 1862, and in the summer and autumn of 
1863 followed the cavalry actions at Aldie, Middle- 
burg, Upperville, and New Baltimore. 

" No battle-ground on the continent of America can 
present to the generations yet to come such a gigantic 
Roll of Honor. Here also was displayed the best 
military talent, the keenest strategy, and the highest 
engineering skill of our civil war. Here were assem- 
bled the great representative leaders of slavery and 
freedom. Here Scott, McDowell, Pope, and Meade 
on the Federal side, and Beauregard, Johnson, and 
Lee on the C.'on federate side, have in turn held the 
reins of battle and shared both victory and defeat. 

"The action which resulted iu the tall of Fort 
Sumter developed extraordinary talent in the rebel 
General P. G. T. Beauregard, and brought him con- 
spicuously before the Con federate government. Called 
for by the unanimous voice of the Southern people, he 
was now ordered to take command of the main portion 
of the Confederate army in northern Virginia. He 
selected Manassas Junction as his base of operations, 
and established his outposts near Fairfax Court-House, 
seventeen miles from Washington. 

"General Beauregard's forces, on the line of Bull 
Run, numbered on the sixteenth of July nearly forty 



$24 SWORD AND PEN. 

thousand men, and sixty-four pieces of artillery, to- 
gether with a considerable body of cavalry. The 
threatening attitude of this force, almost within sight 
of the National capital, led General Scott to concen- 
trate the Union forces in that quarter with a view 
to meeting the Confederates in battle, and, if possible, 
giving a death-blow to the rebellion. 

" Ludicrous, indeed, in the light of subsequent 
events, was the general conviction of the hostile sec- 
tions, that, a single decisive engagement would termi- 
nate the war. Little did the Unionists then know of 
the ambitious designs of the pro-slavery leaders, and 
still less did the uneducated, misguided masses of the 
South know of the patriotism, resources, and invincible 
determination of the North. On both sides there was 
great popular anxiety for a general battle to deter- 
mine the question of relative manhood : and especially 
on the side of the South, from an impression that one 
distinct and large combat resulting in its favor, and 
showing conspicuously its superior valor, would alarm 
the North sufficiently to lead it to abandon the war. 
The New York Tribune, which was supposed at that 
time to be a faithful representative of the sentiment 
and temper of the North, said, on the nineteenth of 
July, 1861: ^ We have been most anxious that this 
struggle should be submitted at the earliest moment to 
the ordeal of a fair, decisive battle. Give the Unionists 
a fair field, equal weapons and equal numbers, and we 
ask no more. Should the rebel forces at all justify 
the vaunts of their journalistic trumpeters, we shall 
candidly admit the fact. If they can beat double the 
number of Unionists, they can end the struggle on 
their own terms.* 



"BATTLES FOB THE UNION." 325 

*^A field for the grand combat was soon found, but 
its results were destined to disappoint both the victors 
and the vanquished. The South had looked forward 
to this field for an acknowledgment of its independence; 
the North for a downfall of the rebellion." 

The chapter on " Brandy Station '^ affords several 
illustrations of our author's glowing descriptive power, 
thus: 

"The words Brandy Station will ever excite a multi- 
tude of thrilling memories in the minds of all cavalry- 
men who saw service in Virginia, for this was the 
grand cavalry battle-ground of the war. 

"On these historic plains our Bayard, Stoneman, 
and Pleasanton have successively led their gallant 
troopers against the commands of Stuart, Lee, and 
Hampton. The twentieth of August, 1862, the ninth 
of June, twelfth of September, and eleventh of October, 
1863, are days which cannot soon be forgotten by the 
^ Boys in Blue ' who crossed sabres with the Confed- 
erates at Brandy Station. 

"Converging and diverging roads at this point quite 
naturally brought the cavalry of the contending armies 
together whenever we advanced to, or retired from, the 
Rapidan. Being both the advance and rear-guard of 
the opposing forces, our horsemen always found them- 
selves face to face with the foe on this field ; in fact, 
most of our cavalrymen were so confident of a fight 
here, that as soon as we discovered that we were ap- 
proaching the station we prepared for action by tight- 
ening our saddle-girths and inspecting our arms. 

" Upon the withdrawal of the Army of the Potomac 
from the Peninsula, General Lee, contemplating the 
invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania, started his 



326 SWORD AND PEN. 

army northward with the view, no doubt, of driving 
Pope from northern Virginia, and carrying the Con- 
federate standard into the loyal States. The battle 
of Cedar Mountain temporarily checked his forward 
movement and compelled him to retire to the south bank 
of the Rapidan. The reappearance of rebel skir- 
mishers at the various fords of the river on the morn- 
ing of August the eighteenth, 1862, was an evidence 
to our pickets that the enemy was about to resume 
hostilities. 

"General Pope at once ordered his artillery and 
infantry to retire beyond the Rappahannock, while 
General Bayard, commanding the cavalry, was charged 
with covering the rear of the retiring army. We dis- 
puted the advance of the rebels so stubbornly that 
they found no opportunity to interfere with the re- 
treat of the main column. The morning of the twen- 
tieth found the ^ Harris Light,' Tenth New York, 
First Pennsylvania, First Maine, First Rhode Island, 
and First New Jersey Cavalry, bivouacked at Brandy 
Station. 

" The engagement opened at six o'clock by an 
attack of Stuart's cavalry upon the Harris Light, act- 
ing as rear-guard of Bayard's brigade. 

"This preliminary onset was speedily repulsed by 
the Harris Light, which regiment kept the enemy in 
check until General Bayard had gained sufficient time 
to enable him to form his command at a more favor- 
able point, two miles north of the station, on the 
direct road to the Rappahannock. Here the Harris 
Light, led by Colonel Kilpatrick and Major Davies, 
again charged the advanced regiments of the Confed- 
erate column, thus opening the series of memorable 



"BATTLES FOR THE UNION." 327 

conflicts at Brandy Station, and adding fresh laurels 
to its already famous record. A deep cut in a hill, 
through which the Orange and Alexandria Railroad 
passes, checked our pursuit, else we should have cap- 
tured many prisoners. The First New Jersey and 
First Pennsylvania coming to our relief enabled us to 
reform our broken squadrons, and, as Pope had in- 
structed General Bayard not to bring on a general 
engagement, the cavalry now crossed the Rappahan- 
nock and awaited the orders of the general-in-chief " 

The following description of ^' INIanassas or Second 
Bull Run "shows great mastery of his subject, and the 
possession of a facile and impartial pen : 

^^On the twenty-ninth of August, 1862, the storm 
of battle again broke over the plains of Manassas, 
and surged furiously along the borders of Bull Run 
creek and down the Warrenton pike. Tiie figure of 
General Franz Sigel stands out in bold relief against 
the background of battle, the first actor appearing on 
the scene in this drama of war and death. 

"The time is daybreak, and the rosy light of early 
dawn, so peaceful and so pure, flushes the sky in 
painful contrast to the scenes of strife and bloodshed 
below. 

"At noon on the day previous, General Pope had 
ordered Reno, Kearney and Hooker to follow Jackson, 
who, through the miscarriage of well-laid plans, had 
been allowed to escape in the direction of Centreville. 
McDowell's command, then on the way to Manassas, 
was ordered to march to Centreville, while Porter was 
directed to come forward to Manassas Junction. The 
orders were promptly executed by the various com- 
mands, excepting that of Fitz-John Porter, who unac- 



328 SWORD AND PEN. 

countablyon loyal principles, remained inactive during 
the ensuing contest. Kearney drove the enemy out of 
Centreville, and in their retreat aloncr the Warrenton 
Road they encountered the division of King, McDowell's 
advance, marching eastward to intercept them. 

"A sharp fight took place, terminating to the advan- 
tage of neither, and at night the contestants bivouacked 
near the battle-field. 

"On the night of the twenty-eighth, Pope's forces 
were so disposed that twenty-five thousand men under 
McDowell, Sigel and Reynolds, were ready to attack 
Jackson from the south and west, and the corps of Reno, 
Heintzelman, and Port'er, consisting of an equal number 
of troops, were to complete the attack from the east. Lee 
was pushing forward his forces to support Jackson at 
Thoroughfare Gap, and it was necessary for the Union 
army to use all possible celerity of movement, in order to 
make the attack before the main movement of the Con- 
federate army under Lee could come up. But this com- 
bination failed like many another, and during the night 
King's division fell back towards Manassas Junction, 
at which place Porter's Corps had recently arrived, and 
the road to Gainsville and Thoroughfare Gap was thus 
left oi>en to Jackson. A new arrangement of troops 
became therefore necessary." .... 

There are several fine passages in the description of 
the battle of Gettysburg which show graphic power, 
and penetration into the motives of the leaders. The 
story of this sanguinary struggle for victory is well told 
throughout. We extract the following: 

'* Night came on to close the dreadful day. Thus far 
the battle had been mostly to the advantage of the 
rebels. They held the ground where Reynolds had 



"BATTLES FOR THE UNION." 329 

fallen, also Seminary Ridge, and the elevation whence 
the Eleventh Corps had been driven. They also occu- 
pied the ridge on which Sickles had commenced to 
fight. Sickles himself was hors de combat with a shat- 
tered leg, which had to be amputated, and not far from 
twenty thousand of our men had been killed, wounded, 
and captured. The rebels had also lost heavily in 
killed and wounded, but having gained several impor- 
tant positions, were deluded with the idea that they had 
gained a victor}^ 

" During these days of deadly strife and of unpre- 
cedented .slaughter, our cavalry was by no means idle. 
On the morning of the first, Kilpatrick advanced his 
victorious squadrons to the vicinity of Abbottstown, 
where they struck a force of rebel cavalry, which they 
scattered, capturing several ])risoners, and then rested. 
To the ears of the alert cavalry chieftain came the 
sound of battle at Gettysburg, accompanied with the 
intelligence from prisoners mostly, that Stuart's main 
force was bent on doing mischief on the right of our 
infantry lines, which were not far from the night's 
bivouac. 

" He appeared instinctively to know where he was 
most needed ; so, i a the absence of orders, early the 
next morning he fxlvanced on Hunterstown. At this 
point were the extreme wings of the infantry lines, and 
as Kilpatrick expected, he encountered the rebel cav> 
airy, commanded by his old antagonists, Stuart, Lee 
and Hampton. The early j)art of the day was spent 
mostly in reconnoitring, but all the latter part of the 
day was occupied in hard, bold, and bloody work. 
Charges and counter-charges were made ; the carbine, 



330 SWORD AND PEN. 

pistol and sabre were used by turns, and the artillery 
thundered long after the infantry around Gettyvsburg 
had sunk to rest, well-nigh exhausted with the bloody 
carnage of the weary day. But Stuart, who had hoped 
to break in upon our flank and rear, and to pounce 
upon our trains, was not only foiled in his endeavor by 
the gallant Kilpatrick, but also driven back upon his 
infantry supports and badly beaten. 

" In the night, Kilpatrick, after leaving a sufficient 
force to prevent Stuart from doing any special damage 
on our right, swung around with the remainder of his 
division to the left of our line, near Round Top, and 
was there prepared for any work which might be 
assigned him. 

" Friday, July third, the sun rose bright and warm 
upon the blackened forms of the dead which were 
strewn over the bloody earth ; upon the wounded, who 
had not been cared for, and upon long glistening lines 
of armed men, ready to renew the conflict. Each 
antagonist, rousing every slumbering element of power, 
seemed to be resolved upon victory or death. 

"The fight commenced early, by an attack of General 
Slocura^s men, who, determined to regain the rifle-pits 
they had lost the evening before, descended like an 
avalanche upon the foe. The attack met with a prompt 
response from General Ewell. But after several hours 
of desperate fighting, victory perched upon the Union 
banners, and with great loss and shuighter, the rebels 
were driven out of the breast- works, and fell back upon 
their main lines near Benner's Hill. 

" This successful move upon the part of our boys in 
blue was followed by an ominous lull or quiet, which 
continued about three hours. Meanwhile the silence 



"BATTLES FOR THE UNION:' 331 

was fitfully broken by an occasional spit of fire, while 
every preparation was being made for a last, supreme 
effort, which it was expected would decide the mighty 
contest. The scales were being poised for the last time, 
and upon the one side or the other was soon to be 
recorded a glorious victory or a disastrous defeat/ 
Hearts either trembled, or waxed strong in the awful 
presence of this responsibility. 

"At length one o'clock arrived, a signal-gun was 
fired, and then at least one hundred and twenty-five 
guns from Hill and Longstreet concentrated and crossed 
their fires upon Cemetery Hill, the centre and key of 
our position. Just behind this crest, though much 
exposed, were General Meade's headquarters. For 
nearly two hours this hill was plowed and torn by solid 
shot and bursting shell, while about one hundred guns 
on our side, mainly from this crest and Round Top, made 
sharp response. The earth and the air shook for miles 
around with the terrific concussion, which came no 
longer in volleys, but in a continual roar. So long 
and fearful a cannonade was never before witnessed on 
this continent. As the range was short and the aim 
accurate, the destruction was terrible. 

"Gradually the fire on our side began to slacken, 
and General Meade, learning that our guns were be- 
coming hot, gave orders to cease firing and to let the 
guns cool, though the rebel balls were making fearful 
havoc among our gunners, while our infantry sought 
poor shelter behind every projection, anxiously awaiting 
the expected charge. At length the enemy, supposing 
that our guns were silenced, deemed that the moment 
for an irresistible attack had come. Accordingly, as a 



332 SWORB AND PEN. 

lion emerges from his lair, he sallied forth, when 

strong lines of infantry, nearly three miles in length, 

with double hnes of skirmishers in front, and heavy 

reserves in rear, advaneed with despeiation to the 

final effort. They moved with steady, measured tread 

over the plain below, and began the ascent of the hills 

occupied by our forces, concentrating somewhat upon 

General Hancock, though stretching across our entire 

front. 

• ••••• 

"General Picket's division was nearly annihilated. 
One of his officers recounted that, as they were charg- 
ing over the grassy plain, he threw himself down 
before a murderous discharge of grape and canister, 
which mowed the grass and men all ^around him^ as 
though a scythe had been swung just above his pros- 
trate form. 

" During the terrific cannonade and subsequent 
charges, our ammunition and other trains had been 
j)arked in rear of Round Top, which gave them splen- 
did shelter. Partly to possess this train, but mainly 
to secure this commanding position. General Long- 
street sent two strong divisions of infantry, with heavy 
artillery, to turn our flank, and drive us from this 
ground. Kilpatrick, with his division, which had been 
strengthened by Merritt's regulars, was watching this 
])oint and waiting for an opportunity to strike the foe. 
It came at last. Emerging from the woods in front 
of him came a strong battle-line, followed by others. 

"To the young Farnsworth was committed the task 
of meeting infantry with cavalry in an open field. 
Placing the Fifth New York in support of Elder's 
battery, which was exposed to a galling fire, but mado 




fl'lllllljil 



"BATTLES FOR THE UNIONS 333 

reply with characteristic rapidity, precision and slaugh- 
ter, Farnsworth quickly ordered the First Virginia, the 
First Vermont, and Eighteenth Pennsylvania in hne 
of battle, and galloped away and charged upon the 
flank of the advancing columns. The attack was 
sharp, brief and successful, though attended with great 
slaughter. But the rebels were driven upon their 
main lines, and the flank movement was prevented. 
Thus the cavalry added another dearly earned laurel 
to its chaplet of honor — dearly earned, because many 
of their bravest champions fell upon that bloody field. 
• ...., 

" Thus ended the battle of Gettysburg — the bloody 
turning-point of the rebellion — the bloody baptism of 
the redeemed republic. Nearly twenty thousand men 
from the Union ranks had been killed and wounded, 
and a larger number of the rebels, making the enor- 
mous aggregate of at least forty thousand, whose blood 
was shed to fertilize the Tree of Liberty." 

The following peroration to the glowing account of 
the battle of Pittsburg Landing, we quote as an illus- 
tration of the vein of poetry that j)ervades his 
writings : 

" Thus another field of renown was added to the list, 
so rapidly increased during these years ; where valor 
won deathless laurels, and principle was reckoned 
weighter than life. 

" Peacefully the Tennessee flows between its banks 
onward to the ocean, nor tells aught of the bloody 
struggle on its shore. Quietly the golden grain ripens 
in the sun, and the red furrow of war is supplanted 
by the plowshares of peace. To the child born withm 
the shadow of this battle-field, who listens wonder- 



334 SWORD AND PEN. 

iiicrly to a recital of the deeds of this day, the heroes 
of'shiloh will, mayhap, appear like the dim phantoms 
ofa dream, shadowy and unreal, hut the results they 
helped to bring about are the tissue of a people's life ; 
the dust he treads is the sacred soil from which sprang 
the flowers of freedom, and the institutions for which 
these men died, make his roof safe over his head."^ 

We conclude our extracts from the volume with a 
part of the chapter on "The Surrender." The story 
is told without flourish of trumpets, and in a manner 
to give no offense to the vanquished, while its strict 
and impartial adherence to truth must recommend it 
to all readers : 

" The last act in the great drama of the war took 
place without dramatic accessory. There was no 
startling tableau, with the chief actors grouped in effec- 
tive attitudes, surrounded by their attendants. No 
spreading tree lent its romance to the occasion, as some 
artists have fondly supposed. 

"A plain farm-house between the lines was selected 
by General Lee for the surrender, and the ceremony of 
that act was short and simple. The noble victor did 
not complete the humiliation of the brave vanquished 
by any triumphal display or blare of trumpets. In 
his magnanimity he even omitted the customary usage 
of allowing the victorious troops to pass through the 
enemy's lines and witness their surrender. The two 
great commanders met with courteous salutation, Gen- 
eral Lee being attended by only one of his aides. 
General Grant sat down at a table in the barely fur- 
nished room and wrote in lead-pencil the terms of 
capitulation, to which Lee dictated an agreement in 
writing. His secretary, Colonel Marshall, and Colonel 



"BATTLES FOR THE UNION." 335 

Badeaii, the secretary of General Grant, made copies 
of the agreement from the same bottle of ink. 
• • • • 

*' The final situation of the Confederate army before 
its surrender was indeed desperate— its environments 
hopeless. Hemmed in at Appomattox Court House, on 
a strip of land between the Appomattox and James 
rivers, the Union army nearly surrounded it on all 
sides. Sheridan was in front, Meade in the rear, and 
Ord south of the Court House. Lee had no alter- 
native other than the wholesale slaughter of his reduced 
army, or its surrender to Federal authority. He wisely 
chose the latter. 

"The decisive battle of Five Forks had put his 
army to rout, and sent it in rapid retreat towards the 
junction of the Southside and Danville railroads at 
Burkesville. The Union troops pressed forward in 
pursuit, and it became a vital question which would 
reach the junction first. Between Petersburg, their 
point of starting, and their destination, at Burkesville, 
the distance was fifty-three miles. The roads were bad,' 
and the troops tired with two days' fighting; but they 
pushed on with determination in this race which was 
destined to decide the fate of two armies. 

"It was Palm Sunday, April the ninth, 1865, when 
the capkulation was signed, in the plain frame dwelling 
near Appomattox Court House. 

"One is often struck with the curious coincidences 
—the apparent sympathy between nature and impor- 
tant human events. The dying hours of Cromwell 
and Napoleon were marked by violent storms. Omens 
in earth and sky were the precursors of the death of 



836 SWORD AND FEN. 

Julius Caesar and King Duncan. A great comet 
heralded the opening of the war, and Palm Sunday — 
the day which commemorates the victorious entry of 
Christ into Jerusalem, ushered in the welcome reign of 
peace. The time was auspicious ; the elements were 
rocked to sleep in a kind of Sunday repose. The two 
armies, so long in deadly hostility, were now facing 
each other with guns strangely hushed. An expectant 
silence pervaded the air. Every heart was anxiously 
awaiting the result of the conference in the historic 
farm-house. 

" When at last the news of the surrender flashed 
alono^ the lines, dcafenim»; cheers rose and fell for more 
than half an hour, over the victorious Union army. 
Other than this, there was no undue triumphal display 
of the victors over the conquered foe. . . . The shout 
of joy which was sent up that day from Appomattox 
Court House echoed through the entire North. Can- 
nons boomed forth their iron pteans of victory ; the 
glad clash of bells was heard ringing ' peace and free- 
dom in,' and bonfires flamed high their attestation of 
the unbounded delight everywhere exhibited. The day 
of jubilee seemed to have come, and rejoicing was the 
order of the hour. The storm of war which had 
rocked the country for four long years, was now rolling 
away, and the sunlight of peace fell athwart the 
national horizon. The country for which AVashington 
fouo^ht and Warren fell was once more safe from 
treason's hands, and liberty was again the heritage of 
the people." 

The Northern and Western press, as heretofore, 
again bore its flattering testimony to our author's dili- 
gence, truthfulness and loyalty to his colors; and to the 



"BATTLES FOR THE UNION." 337 

surprising facility with which a soldier could sheathe 
his sword and wield a pen, charming alike the veteran 
by his details of valor, and the mother, wife and sister 
by his stories of pathos from the battle-field. 

The following is from the Philadelphia North 
American: 

"'Battles for the Union.' — Thoroughly representative of the 
courage and ability shown on either side in the great struggle that 
lasted from the close of 1860 to April, 1865. It is not the purpose of 
the author to present a standard and critical work like the works of 
Jomini, Napier and Allison ; nor to include a discussion of political 
questions. His aim is rather to furnish a vivid and correct account 
of the principal batt les in such simple and intelligible terms that every 
reader may gain a precise idea of each. His style is rather graphic 
and vigorous than ornate. He introduces effective details and per- 
sonal episodes. His facts are gleaned from a variety of sources as 
well as from personal knowledge; and though proud of his own 
cause and of his companions, he does not belittle their renown by 
decrying the valor or the intelligence of his opponents. The con- 
flicts themselves will never be forgotten. It is desirable that they 
shall be kept vivid and clear in the minds of the rising generation, 
to cultivate a correct idea of the necessity of personal valor and of 
military preparation and capacity, as well as impress a serious idea 
of the momentous importance of political issues. Captain Glazier's 
volume is excellently fitted to instruct and interest everywhere." 

The Pittsburg Commercial says : 

" Commencing with the siege and final surrender of Fort Sumter, 
the author traces the progress of the Union armies through all the 
chief battles of the war, giving vivid and glowing descriptions of 
the struggles at Big Bethel, Bull Run, Wilson's Creek, Ball's Bluff, 
Mill Spring, Pea Ridge, the fight between the *Merrimac' and 
* Monitor,' Newbern, Falmouth Heights, Pittsburg Landing, WiU 
liamsburg. Seven Pines, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Cedar Mountain, 
Brandy Station, Manassas or Second Bull Run, Chantilly, Antietam, 
Corinth, Fredericksburg, Stone River, Chancellorsville, Aldie, Up- 
perville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Falling Waters, 
Chickamauga, Bristoe, New Baltimore, Fort Fisher, Olustee, Fort 
Pillow, Cold Harbor, Fort Wagner, Cedar Creek, Waynesboro, 



338 SWORD AND PEN. 

Bentonville, Five Forks, and down to the surrender of Lee. Captain 
Glazier has evidently liad access to the official records of the war, 
and his narrative of the great events are therefore accurate. The 
book is one the reading of which will make the blood tingle in the 
veins of every soldier who took part in the late war, while it will 
deeply interest every lover of his country. As a book for boys, it 
has few, if any, superiors." 

The Chicago Inter-Ocean writes: 

"'Battles for the Union' is such a history as every soldier and 
every man who has a pride in his country, should wish to possess. 
Captain Glazier was no carpet knight. He shared the glories of 
the Harris Light Cavalry in camp and field, earning his promotion 
from the non-commissioned ranks to the command for which he was 
so admirably fitted. There is the scent of ])owder in what he writes, 
the vivid reality of sight and understanding. We are particularly 
charmed with his style, which is plain, blunt, direct, and free from 
strain or affectation. He describes the fights as they were fought; 
individual deeds of bravery as they were performed ; the march 
and its trials ; the defeat and its causes ; the victory and its effects. 
With the ardor of a young patriot, and the generous admiration of 
a good soldier, he feels as great a pride in the successes of a rival 
corps as in his own. Nor is this an unworthy feature of his work, 
because the army was full of little, and sometimes not particularly 
friendly, rivalries. Willard Glazier's chapters, in which every 
battle may be regarded as a separate picture, read like a grand 
panoramic view of gallant deeds and warlike pageantries. If the 
author occasionally covers up a clear defeat, excusing it with grace- 
ful art; if he feels disposed to over-estimate a slight advantage, and 
to claim a victory where the battle was evidently drawn, he errs 
upon the side of love for the Boys in Blue, and pride in the flag 
under which he fought. The work is divided into forty-four chap- 
ters, each containing a different battle. We confidently recommend 
these graphic and life-like pictures to the notice of our readers. 
They are thrilling as the sound of the trumpet, and soul-inspiring 
as the songs of Ossian. We call the reader's attention to the 
description of the combat between the 'Merrimac' and 'Monitor' 
in chapter eight. It is something which will fill with pride the 
sailor's heart." 



CHAPTER XXX. 
, "heroes of three wars." 

Literary zeal.— ''Heroes of Three Wars "—Extract from preface.— 
Sale of tlie work.— Extracts : Washington.— Winfield Scott.— 
Zachary Taylor. — Grant. — Sheridan. — Kilpatrick. — Press 
reviews, a few out of many: Boston " Transcript."— Chicago 
"Inter-Ocean."— Baltimore "Sun."— Philadelphia " Times."^ 
Cincinnati " Enquirer."— Worcester " Spy."— Pittsburg " Gazette." 

"DY this time our soldier-author found himself not 
JJ only famous, but, through the enormous sale of 
his books, in comparatively affluent circumstances. His 
Jiterary zeal, however, was not yet spent, and work suc- 
ceeded work with a rapidity almost without parallel, 
while the extent of their sale exceeded anything hitherto 
known in the literary world. 

"Heroes of Three Wars," issued by Hubbard 
Brothers, Philadelphia, the latest production of his 
pen which he has as yet published, comprises origi- 
nal and life-like sketches of the brave soldiers of the 
Revolutionary, Mexican and Civil Wars; and the 
stories are told in a way that is not easily forgotten. 
In the wide field presented by these three important 
epochs in the history of our country. Glazier has 
labored to inculcate in the minds of young Americans 
the virtues of gallantry, true worth, and patriotism ; 
and his work is valuable as presenting to the student 
in a small compass, so much of interest in biography 
and history. 

(3«) 



^2 SWORD AND FEN. 

lu the preface to the work he observes : " Washing*, 
ton, Scott and Grant are names that will live forever 
in our history; not because they were the subjects of a 
blind adulation, but because their worth was properly 
estimated, and their deeds truthfully recorded. The 
time for deifying men has long since passed ; we prefer 
to see them as they are — though great, still human, 
and surrounded with human infirmities; worthy of 
immortal renown, not because they are unlike us, but 
because they excel us and have performed a work 
which entitles them to the lasting gratitude of their 
countrymen. Another object of this book is to group 
around these three generals, those officers and men who 
climbed to immortality by their side, shared their for- 
tunes, helped to win their victories, and remained with 
them to the end.'^ Again : " Biographies possess but 
little value unless they give living portraits, so that 
each man stands out clear and distinct in his true char- 
acter and proportions." 

Several thousand copies of this valuable work have 
already been called for by the public, and it bids fair 
to equal its predecessors in amount of circulation. As 
a specimen of its style, we present to the reader the fol- 
lowing extract from the biographical sketch of Wash- 
ington : — "There is a singular unanimity of opinion 
in ascribing to George Washington an exceptional 
character. It was certainly one of peculiar sym- 
metry, in which a happy combination of qualities, 
moral, social and intellectual, were guided to appro- 
priate action by a remarkable powerof clear judgment. 
It was just the combination calculated to lead a spirited 
and brave people through such a trying crisis as the 
American Revolution. His star was not dark and 



''HEROES OF THREE WARSP 343 

bright by turns — did not reveal itself in uncertain and 
fitful glimmerings — but shone with a full and steady 
luminosity across the troubled night of a nation's be- 
ginning. Under these broad and beneficent rays the 
Ship of State was guided, through a sea of chaos, to 
safe anchorage. The voyage across those seven event- 
ful years was one that tried men's souls. Often, appall- 
ing dangers threatened. Wreck on the rocks of Dis- 
union, engulfment in the mountain waves of opposition, 
starvation and doubt and mutiny on shipboard — these 
were a few of the perils which beset their course. But 
a royal-souled Commander stood at the helm, and dis- 
cerned, afar-off, the green shores of liberty. On this 
land the sunshine fell with fruitful power. The air 
was sweet with the songs of birds. Contentment, 
peace, prosperity, reigned. Great ])ossibilities were 
shadowed forth within its boundaries, and a young 
nation, growing rapidly towards a splendid era of en- 
lightenment, was foreseen as a product of the near 
future. It took a man with deep faith in the ultimate 
rule of right and in humanity, to occupy that position ; 
a man with large heart, with unselfish aims, with pro- 
phetic instincts, with clear and equalized brain. George 
Washington possessed all these qualities — and more!" 
The following is from the admirably graphic sketch 
of the sturdy soldier, W infield Scott: "On the twenty- 
fifth of the same month (July, 1814), a little below 
that sublime spot where the wide waste of waters 
which rush over the Falls of Niagara roar and thunder 
into the gulf below, and where Lundy's Lane meets 
the rapid river at right angles, was enacted the scene 
of conflict which took its name from the locality, and 
is variously called the battle of * Lundy's Lane/ or 



344 SWORD AND PEN. 

* Niagara/ The action began forty minutes before 
sunset, and it is recorded that the head of the Ameri- 
can column, as it advanced, was encircled by a rain- 
bow — one which is often seen there, formed from the 
rising spray. The happy omen faithfully prefigured 
the result; for when, under the cloudy sky of mid- 
night the battle at length terminated, the Americans 
were in possession of the field, and also the enemy's 
cannon, which had rained such deadly death into their 
ranks. In this action General Scott had two horses 
killed under him, and about eleven o'clock at night he 
was disabled by a musket-ball wound through the left 
shoulder. He had previously been wounded, and at 
tins juncture w^as borne from the fray. He had piloted 
Miller's regiment through the darkness to the height 
on Lundy's Lane, where the enemy's batteries were 
posted, and upon which the grand charge was made 
that decided the battle. Throughout the action he was 
the leading spirit of the occasion, giving personal di- 
rection to the movements of his men, and lending the 
inspiration of his presence to all parts of the field." 

Of Zachary Taylor, our author writes, in his mas- 
terly way: "The blaze of glory which is concentrated 
upon the name and life of Zachary Taylor, reveals a 
hero as true in metal, as sterling in virtue, as intrepid 
in action, and tender of heart, as ever lifted sword in 
the cause of honor or country. On him has fallen that 
most sacred mantle of renown, woven from the fabric 
of a people's confidence, and lovingly bestowed — not as 
upon a being of superior race to be worshipped, but 
because he was a leader from among themselves — truly 
of the people. He was honored with their fullest 
trust in his integrity, and with their largest faith in his 



"HEROES OF THREE WARS:* 345 

uprightness as a man. As Daniel Webster truly said, the 
best days of the Koinan republic afforded no brighter 
example of a man, who, receiving the plaudits of a 
grateful nation, and clothed in the highest authority of 
state, reached that pinnacle by more honest means; 
who could not be accused of the smallest intrigue or of 
pursuing any devious ways to political advancement 
in order to gratify personal ambition. All the circum- 
stances of his rise and popularity, from the beginning 
of his career, when, amid blood and smoke, he made 
the heroic defence of Fort Harrison, to the wonderful 
battles of Palo Alto, Resaca, and Buena Vista, and at 
last the attainment of the Presidential chair — all repel 
the slightest suspicion of sinister motive, or a wish for 
individual aggrandizement. The unwavering rule of 
his life — his guide in every action — was the sirilple 
watchword, ' duty.' 

"As to his qualities of leadership, they shone out in 
high relief, from first to last. In the war of 1812, he 
was only a captain, yet at Fort Harrison he inspired 
the scanty garrison with a belief in his power, and they 
gave him their devoted support. In the Florida cam- 
paign he commanded only a brigade, yet he seemed to 
infuse into every soldier the most courageous bravery. 
In the beginning of the war with Mexico, he marched 
into action at the head of a single division, and when 
this force afterwards swelled into an army, it did not 
prove too much for the resources of its commanding 
general. The frowning heights and barricaded streets 
of Monterey, bristling with ten thousand Mexicans, did 
not daunt him. What though he had only six thou- 
sand men with which to hold them in siege? The 
assault was fearlessly made, the streets were stormed, 



346 SWORD AND PEN. 

the heights were carried, the city was won — -and 
kept! 

"The brilliant victory of Buena Vista, where five 
thousand Americans hurled hack and repulsed a tumul- 
tuous Mexican horde of twenty tliousand, only reiter- 
ates the same marvelous story of superior leadership." 

" Fresh from these splendid achievements, he re- 
ceived the nomination for President over the names of 
Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and General Scott. It 
was a spontaneous expression of the people's confidence, 
unheralded and unsought. And when he was triumph- 
antly elected over the Democratic and Free-soil candi- 
dates — General Cass, Martin Van Buren, and Charles 
Francis Adams — he accepted the high office in a spirit 
of humility and simple compliance with duty." 

In the sketch of General U. S. Grant's life, our 
author has written with a masterly hand the outlines 
of the grand career of his favorite general, the salient 
points of which are given with a soldierly energy and 
dash befitting the theme. Thus the chapter commences : 

'^The occasion often creates the man, but the man 
who masters the occasion is born, not made. Many are 
pushed to the surface, momentarily, by the pressure of 
events, and then subside into common levels; but he is 
the true commander during a crisis, who can wield the 
waves of difficulty to advantage, and be a sure {)ilot 
amid the on-rush of events when they thicken and 
deepen into a prolonged struggle. 

'^ When, during the late war, our country needed a 
leader to face and quell the threatened danger of dis- 
union, and conduct her armies to successful issues ; and 
when Government entrusted those momentous issues 



''HEROES OF THREE WARSJ' 347 

to Ulysses S. Grant, ' the man and the moment had 
met/ — the occasion had found its master. 

•* Napoleon said that the most desirable quality of a 
good general was that his judgment should be in equi- 
librium with his courage. To no commander of mod- 
ern times could this rule apply with more force than 
to Grant. A man of no outward clamor of character, 
no hint of bluster or dash, quiet-voiced, self-controlled, 
but not self-asserting, he yet displayed vast power as 
an organizer, as a tactician, and in masterly combina- 
tions of large forces so as to produce the most telling 
effects. It has been truly said of him that no general 
ever stamped his own peculiar character upon an army 
more emphatically than did Grant upon the Army of 
the Tennessee. It was the only large organization 
which, as a whole, never suffered a defeat during the 
war. It was noted for its marvelous persistence — its 
determined fighting qualities — and had the reputation 
of being sure to win any battle that lasted over a day, 
no matter what the odds against it. It was at Grant's 
recommendation that a united command was concen- 
trated in the Mississippi Valley — which concentration 
has since been acknowledged to be the basis of all 
our subsequent victories. 

"Generosity, mildness and kind-heartedness, shone 
as conspicuously in Grant's character as his firmness 
and great generalship. Simplicity of manner and 
kindness of heart are always characteristic of the true 

hero. 

' The bravest are the tenderest, 
The loving are the daring.' 

The rapid and bold descent upon Fort Donelson, 
the unconquerable determination exhibited at Shiloh, 

26 



348 SWORD AND PEN, 

the brilliant capture of Vicksburg, and tlie high mili- 
tary science displayed at Chattanooga Valley, Look- 
out Mountain, and Missionary Ridge — these have 
never been surpassed in military history, in splendor 
of execution, or judiciousness of combination.". . . 

For brevity and comprehensiveness we commend 
the following unique paragraph on the genealogy of his 
subject : 

*' The great-grandfather of Ulysses was Captain Noah 
Grant, who was killed at the battle of White Plains, 
during the French and Indian wars, in 1776. His 
grandfather, Noah Grant, Jr., fought at Lexington as 
lieutenant of militia, and afterwards, during the Rev- 
olution. His father, Jesse, emigrated from Pennsyl- 
vania to Ohio, and was married at Point Pleasant, 
Ohio, June, 1821, to Hannah Simpson, whose father 
was also from the Keystone State. Ulysses was born 
the following year, April twenty-seventh, 1822." 

We quote again from the sketch of Grant : 

"On the sixth of February the brilliant reduc- 
tion of Fort Henry, on the Tennessee, was accomplished 
by Foote, and Fort Donelson, twelve miles distant, 
was next in line. Grant and Foote were co-operating 
by land and water; but Foote did not meet here with 
the same success that attended him at Fort Henry. 
It was the fifteenth of February, and Grant had spent 
two or three days in making an investment of the high 
and wooded bluff from which frowned the guns of 
Donelson. Before daybreak, on the fifteenth, he had 
gone on board the flag-ship of Foote, in consultation 
as to the time and manner of attack, when the enemy 
swept from their works and fell upon the Union lines 
with tremendous force. The fighting became furious 



''HEROES OF THREE WARSr 349 

at once, and for some time the battle-line swayed to 
and fro, between victory and defeat. It was desperate 
work ; brigades an<i regiments were repulsed and by 
turns advanced — the brave commands disputing every 
inch of the rocky and difficult battle-field. When 
Grant reached the scene it was * to find his right thrown 
back, ammunition exhausted, and the ranks in con- 
fusion.' With quick inspiration he took in the situa- 
tion at a glance, comprehended that the enemy had 
exhausted his greatest strength, and ordered an 
immediate attack by the left on the Confederate works 
in front. General Smith was in command of this 
portion of the army, and had not actively participated 
in the conflict. He therefore brought fresh troops to 
the assault. McClernand was also ordered to reform 
his shattered ranks and advance. The combined 
forces charged with splendid valor up the rocky steeps, 
in the blaze of a withering fire poured down upon 
them from the fort. They did not falter for a single 
instant, but reaching the summit, swept over and into 
the Confederate works with ringing cheers. On the 
next morning a white flag was seen flying from the 
fort, and under its protection, proposals for an armis- 
tice were sent in. Grant replied that unconditional 
surrender, and that immediately, must be made, or he 
would move on their works at once. Thereupon, 
Buckner, who was in command, surrendered the fort 
with its thirteen thousand men. This splendid victory 
blazoned the name of Grant all over the country, and 
he immediately became the people's hero." 

"His next achievement, the capture of Yicksburg, 
was wonderful indeed. Its natural strength of posi- 



350 SWORD AND PEN. 

tion on a high bluff, one hundred feet above the water 
level, added to the formidable array of defences which 
bristled defiance to all foes, made Vicksburg a very ci- 
tadel of power, and the fifty thousand men stationed 
there under Pemberton and Price did not lessen the 
difiiculties to be overcome. A fort, mounting eight 
guns, sentineled the approach to the city from beneath, 
while the heights above were guarded by a three-banked 
battery. Eight miles of batteries lined the shore 
above and below Vicksburg. Grant made several 
fruitless attempts to get to the rear of the city by dig- 
ging canals across the strip of land on which it stood, 
and making an inland route; but each one, after 
herculean labor, had been abandoned. He now de- 
cided on the bold enterprise of running the gauntlet 
of these batterlos with his transports. This desperate 
feat was successfully accomplished; but before he 
could land his troops at Grand Gulf, which he had 
selected as his starting-point, it was necessary to run 
its batteries as he had those of Vicksburg, land his 
troops farther down the river, and capture the place 
by hard fighting. He waited for nothing. Hurrying 
forward the moment he touched land, his object was to 
take Grand Gulf before the enemy could reinforce 
it. . . . After conquering Grand Gulf, where he 
expected Banks to join him, he was confronted with 
the refusal of that general to co-operate with him. In 
this dilemma nothing but a master-stroke of genius could 
wring success from the materials of defeat. He saw 
what was before him, and with true inspiration became 
the master of circumstances. At the head of his brave 
command he pushed inland, aiming to crush the enemy 
Mn detail before he could concentrate his forces/ By 



''HEROES OF THREE WARSr 351 

a rapid series of brilliant marches, battles and victories, 
Grant had, at last, on the nineteenth of May, succeeded 
in completely investing Yicksbiirg. The whole plan 
from its outset was brilliant to an extraordinary degree, 
and the tireless persistence and energy shown in its 
accomplishment, stamped this man as a very Gibraltar 
of military genius. 

*^An assault on the enemy's works at first, had proven 
a failure, and now the wonderful siege began. For 
forty-six days the digging and mining went patiently 
forward, while screaming shells and booming shot pro- 
duced a reign of terror in the city, until at last, Pem- 
berton could hold out no longer and surrendered his 
starving garrison to the superior prowess and strategy 
of Grant. It was the morning of the fourth of July 
when our troops took possession of Vicksburg, and 
ran up the stars and stripes from the top of the court- 
house. The soldiers, standing beneath it, sang * Rally 
round the Flag,' and Grant became more than ever the 
popular hero. On the thirteenth of July, Lincoln 
wrote him a letter of ^grateful acknowledgment for 
the almost inestimable service' he had rendered the 
country. In September he was placed in command 
of the ' Departments of the Ohio, of the Cumberland, 
and of the Tennessee, constituting the Military Division 
of the Mississippi.' 

"Grant assumed the duties of his high office [the 
lieutenant-generalship of the army] without flourish 
of any sort, and proceeded to inaugurate the successive 
steps of his last great campaign. The military re- 
sources which centered in his hand were stupendous, 
but had they fallen under the control of a man less 



352 SWORD AND PEN. 

great than he, their very immensity would have ren- 
dered them powerless. The splendid army of the 
Potomac was on the move by May third, and the last 
march to Richmond had begun. Then came the three- 
days' battle of the Wilderness, on the south bank of the 
Rapidan, bloody and terrible and strange, during 
which some of our troops were fighting continuously 
for forty-eight hours ; and following close after came 
also Spottsylvania, which was the result of an endeavor 
to cut off Lee's retreat. This, too, was a desperate 
conflict, where precious blood flowed in rivers. Then 
followed the race between the two opposing armies, for 
the North Anna. After crossing this river, and find- 
ing the Confederates occupying a fortified position on 
the South Anna, Grant * swung his army around to the 
Pamunky, and pitched his head-quarters at Hanover 
Court House.' These masterly flank movements, in 
which he manceuvred his vast army with such ease, 
exhibited his marvelous genius in stronger light than 
ever before. From the Pamunky he advanced to the 
Chickahominy, and, after the battle of Cold Harbor, 
made a rapid but quiet change of front on the night 
of the twelfth of June, and two days afterwards crossed 
the James and advanced against Petersburg and Rich- 
mond. The attack, at first a success, failed through a 
blunder, not Grant's; and then began the long siege 
which ended at last in the evacuation of Petersburg 
and Richmond. Nowhere was the joy more heartfelt 
over these results than among the released captives of 
Libby Prison. 

*^Lee made a desperate endeavor to escape the 
'manifest destiny' that pursued him, and led his army 
a *race for life.' But Grant, close on his track, 



*' HEROES OF THREE WARS:* 353 

environed him on all sides, and the surrender at 
Appomattox became inevitable. When, at the final 
scene, Lee presented his sword to Grant, the great gen- 
eral handed it back to him, saying, * it could not be 
worn by a braver man.' " 

"We present the reader with the following extracts 
from the sketch of General Sheridan. It will be 
observed that the author is extremely happy in the 
selection of his subjects, his aim evidently being to 
include those only whose reputation for heroism is 
unquestioned and national. 

^* Sheridan is probably the most intense type of ^sol- 
diership' brought to light by the last war. Nor can 
any other war furnish an individual example that will 
surpass him in fiery concentration. In battle he is the 
very soul of vehement action — the incarnate wrath of 
the storm. No historian can ever portray the man so 
truly as did the remarkable victory of Cedar Creek — 
a result solely of his extraordinary power. The mar- 
velous will-force with which he could hurl himself in 
the front of battle, and infuse his own spirit of uncon- 
querable daring into the ranks, is phenomenal, to say 
the least." 

" When Grant became Lieutenant-General, Sheridan 
was given the command of the cavalry of the army 
of the Potomac, and all his subsequent movements 
evinced wonderful daring, skill and energy. No trust 
committed to his charge was ever misplaced, no matter 
what its magnitude or importance. 

"When the Confederate Generals Ewell and Early 
were sent into the Shenandoah Valley, and went so 



354 SWOED AND PEN, 

far north as to threaten Washington, Grant consolidated 
the four military divisions of the Susquehanna, Wash- 
ington, Monongahehi and West Virginia, into the 
*army of the Shenandoah,' and placed Sheridan in 
command. He defeated Early at Opequan, September 
nineteenth — for which he was made brio^adier-^eneral 
of the United States army ; defeated him again at 
Fisher's Hill on the twenty-second, and on October 
the nineteenth occurred the battle of Cedar Creek. 

^'The position of Sheridan's army at this time was 
along the crest of three hills, ^each one a little back 
of the other.' The army of West Virginia, under 
Crook, held the first hill ; the second was occupied by 
the Nineteenth Corps, under Emory, and the Sixth 
Corps, with Torbet's cavalry covering its right flank, 
held the third elevation. Early, marching his army 
in five columns, crossed the mountains and forded the 
north branch of the Shenandoah River, at midnight, 
on the eighteenth. He knew that Sheridan had gone 
up to Washington, and wanted to take advantage of 
his absence to surprise the unsuspecting camp. The 
march was conducted so noiselessly that, though he 
skirted the borders of our position for miles, nothing 
came to the ears of our pickets, save in a few instances 
where a heavy muffled tramp was heard, but disregarded 
as of no consequence. 

" The gray gloom of early morning hovered over 
the camp, when a reconnoitring force from Crook's 
army was preparing to go out. Suddenly, a wild yell 
burst through the fog which hid from view the Con- 
federate array. A withering musketry fire and the 
clash of arms quickly followed. Before our surprised 
and panic-stricken troops could be formed in battle- 



''HEROES OF THREE WARS! 355 

array, the enemy were upon thcni, and after a short 
and sharp encounter, the army of Western Virginia 
was thrown into utter rout — a mass of fugitives flying 
before the pursuing foe bacic towards the second hill 
where the Nineteenth Corps was encamped. 

"The Nineteenth Corps attempted to arrest the Con- 
federate advance, but the enemy getting in our rear 
and enfilading us with our captured batteries, the 
troops broke ranks and fell back in confusion towards 
the encampment of the Sixth Corps, on the third hill 
in the rear. 

" Sheridan, meantime, was at AVinchester, where he 
had arrived the night before, intending to go on to 
Cedar Creek the next morning. As he sipped his 
coffee at breakfast he did not for an instant dream of 
the terrible rout and disaster hovering at that moment 
over his army. When he rode out of Winchester the 
vibrations of the ground under the heavy discharges 
of artillery in the distance gave the first intimations 
of danger. But he was not yet alarmed, knowing the 
security of his position. As he went onward, however, 
the thunder of the cannon deepened, and then the ter- 
rible truth flashed upon him. He dashed spurs into 
his horse and was soon tearing madly along the road, 
far ahead of his escort. 

" For five anxious hours the desperate struggle had 
gone on, when Sheridan arrived on the field, encoun- 
tering first the stream of fugitives surging northward. 
They turned about as they saw their invincible leader 
flying towards the front, and even the wounded along 
the roadside cheered him as he passed. Swinging his 



356 SWORD AND PEN. 

cap over his head, he shouted : ^ Face the other way, 
boys ! — face the otlier way ! We are going back to 
our camps ! We are going to lick them out of their 
boots ! ' 

"It was about ten o'clock when, with his horse 
covered with foam, he galloped up to the front. Im- 
mediately, under his quick commands, the broken 
ranks were reformed, and when the Confederates made 
their next grand charge across the fields the terrific 
repulse that met and hurled them back showed the 
turn of the tide, and compelled them to relir.quish the 
offensive. For two hours Sheridan rode back and 
forth along the line, seeming to be everywhere at once, 
infusing into the men his own daring courage and en- 
thusiasm. Shouts and cheers followed him; and 
though the tired soldiers had been fighting for five 
long hours and had eaten nothing since the night be- 
fore, his presence was both food and inspiration, and 
everything seemed to be forgotten in an all-controlling 
impulse to follow their glorious leader to victory. 

" Early retired his troops a short distance after their 
repulse, and began throwing up l)reastworks. But the 
intrepid Sheridan had no notion of allowing him to 
retain that position. He meant to regain Cedar Creek 
and rout the enemy. At half-past three a bold charge 
was made. An awful musketry and artillery fire was 
poured into the advancing Union columns, and, at first, 
the lines broke and fell back; but Sheridan rose at 
once to the needs of the crisis, and with superhuman 
efforts restored order and resumed the advance. Then 
came Uhe long-drawn yell of our charge,' and ^every- 
thing on the first line, the stone walls, the tangled wood, 
the advanced crest, and half-finished breastworks, had 
been carried.' 



"HEROES OF THREE WARS/* 357 

" The panic-stricken enemy was sent flying in utter 
rout through Middletown, through Strasburg, through 
Fisher's Hill, and to Woodstock, sixteen miles be- 
yond. Early was thus effectually driven out of the 
Shenandoah Valley, and permanently crippled. 

"This wonderful victory, due to Sheridan's personal 
I)resence alone, put a crown on his liead which few 
warriors could pluck from the heights of Fame.'^ 

"On March the fourth, 18G9, he received the pro- 
motion of lieutenant-general, and was appointed to 
the command of the Division of the Missouri, of the 
Platte, and of Texas, with head-quarters at Chicago." 

The name of Kilpatrick kindles enthusiasm in the 
breast of every cavalryman of the late war, and our 
author, having served under him, has sketched his life, 
con amorey in vivid and thrilling language, and with 
a keen appreciation of his great merits as a cavalry 
leader. The following extract will confirm our view: 

"Like the French Murat, Kilpatrick seems to have 
been born to become a very demi-god of cavalry. 
Daringly lieroic on the field, he displayed a supreme 
genius for war, especially for that department of the 
service whose alarum cry is, ^To horse!' and whose 
sweeping squadrons, with wild clatter of hoofs, seem 
to the fervid imagination to be making a race for 
glory, even though it be through the gates of death. 

"It is quite in keeping with everything about Kil- 
patrick that he should choose the cavalry as a vehicle 
for his high ambition and noble patriotism. Such 
energies as his could scarcely be content with less dash 
or less brilliance of action. The beginning of his war 
career was one of romance, and his previous life indi- 



358 SWORD AND PEN. 

cated an unusual range of abilities. He first figures as 
the boy-orator, speaking in favor of a Congressional 
candidate, with all the fresh warmth and enthusiasm 
of his young nature. Then we see him as cadet at 
West Point, from w^iich he graduates fifteenth in his 
class and is given the honor of valedictorian. The day 
of graduation is hastened a few months by the startling 
guns of Sumter, which proclaim treason rampant, and 
fire all loyal breasts with a desire to rush to the rescue 
of their country's beloved flag. The impatience and 
enthusiasm of Kilpatrick could not be restrained, and 
through his influence a petition was signed by thirty- 
seven of his class to be allowed to graduate at once and 
go to the front. The request was granted, and that 
day was one of especial significance at West Point. 
It was also one of equal significance in his life ; for the 
little chapel, where had rung out the words of his 
farewell address, also witnessed the sacred ceremony 
of his marriage with the lady of his love, and on that 
evening the young soldier and his bride took the train 
for Washington and the front. We know little of the 
bride except that she was enshrined in her husband's 
heart, and that her name — ^Alice' — was inscribed on 
the silken banner under which he fought, and so 
gloriously led his troopers to victory and renown. No 
one can tell how'much that name may have had to do 
with his future marvelous success. To natures like 
^his, the magic of a name thus loved, fluttering aloft 
in the smoke of battle, becomes talisraanic, and inspires 
.almost superhuman heroism.^' 

"When McDowell marched to Falmouth, he was 
once more at the front, and, in conjunction with Col- 



*' HEROES OF THREE WARS, 359 

oiiel Bayard and tlie First Pennsylvania Cavalry, 
made a brilliant night-attack on Falmouth Heights, 
routing Lee's cavalry and capturing the place. For 
this dashing achievement Kilpatrick received the 
thanks of the commanding general. Afterwards, un- 
der Pope's command, he made his first famous raid in 
breaking up * Stonewall ' Jackson's lineof communication 
with Richmond from Gordonsville in the Shenandoah 
Valley, over the Virginia Central Railway. At Beaver 
Dam, Frederick's Hall, and Hanover Junction, he 
burned the stations, destroyed the tracks, and daringly 
attacked the enemy wherever he could find him. 
These events took j)lace during July and August, 1862, 
and the boldness of the operations, in the very heart 
of the enemy's country, filled the North with Kilpat- 
rick's fame. ..... 

" When Hooker was placed at the head of the 
Army of the Potomac, the cavalry was reorganized 
under Stoneman as chief, and that general, in the 
following campaign, assigned to Kilpatrick the work 
of destroying the railroad and bridges over the Chicka- 
hominy. Four hundred and fifty men were given him 
for the work ; but with this small force he brought to 
the difficult mission his usual skill, and, avoiding 
large forces of the enemy, raided to within two miles 
of Richmond, where he captured 'Lieutenant Brown, 
aide-de-camp to General "Winder, and eleven men 
within the fortifications.' He says : ' I then passed 
down to the left to the Meadow Bridge on the Chicka- 
hominy, which I burned, ran a train of cars into the 
river, retired to Hanover-town on the Peninsula, 
crossed just in time to check the advance of a pur- 
suing cavalry force, burned a train of thirty wagons 



360 SWORD AND FEN. 

loaded with bacon, captured thirteen prisoners, and 
encamped for the night five miles from the river/ 
This was the manner of his conquering quest, until 
on tile seventh he again struck the Union lines at 
Gloucester Point, having made a march of about Hwo 
hundred miles in less than fve days, and captured and 
j)aroled over eiglit hundred prisoners.' In the accom- 
piishment of this splendid feat he lost only one officer 
atid thirty-seven men. 

**At Chancellorsville, when Lee came into Maryland 
and massed his cavalry at Beverly Ford, Pleasonton 
was sent forward on a reconnoissance,and met the enemy 
ivj battle at Brandy Station. This is renowned as the 
greatest cavalry battle of the war. General Gregg 
arrived upon the field at half-past ten in the morning, 
and though his noble squadrons fought well and 
bravely, these columns were rolled back, and for a 
moment, all seemed lost, and overwhelmed by the 
superior numbers of the foe. But at this crisis, Kil- 
patrick, posted on a slight rise of ground, unrolled his 
battle-flag to the breeze, and his bugles sounded the 
charge. He had under his command, the Harris Light, 
Tenvh New York, and First Maine. The formation 
for an onset was quickly made, and the disciplined 
squadrons of these three regiments were hurled upon 
the enemy. But the Tenth New York recoiled before 
the murderous fire of the enemy's carbines. So did the 
Harris Light. Kilpatrick was maddened at the sight. 
He rushed to the head of the First Maine regiment, 
shouting, 'Men of Maine, you must save the day!' 
Under the impulse of this enthusiasm, they became 
altogether resistless, and in conjunction with the re- 
formed squadrons of the two other regiments, swept 



** HEROES OF THREE WARS,"* 361 

the enemy before them, and plucked victory, with 
glorious valor, from the very jaws of defeat. On the 
next day Kilpatrick was made brigadier-general/' 
• • • • • * 

Having presented extracts from *' Heroes of Three 
Wars,'' and ventured to express, incidentally and briefly 
our own humble opinion of the merits of this work, we 
will now, in confirmation of our judgment, give some 
reviews of the Press — a few out of many. Throughout 
the North the work was hailed with not a little en- 
thusiasm, by soldiers and civilians alike — as a work 
of decided literary merit, and one written in a fair, 
truthful, and loyal spirit, replete with much valuable 
historical information of a character not otherwise easily 
attainable, and calculated to accomplish much good 
among the rising generation. 

The Boston Transcript says: 

"The bivouac, the march, the hand-to-hand conflict with brist- 
ling steel, the head-long charge, the ignominious retreat, and the 
battle-field after the bloody assault, with its dead and wounded 
heroes, are all excellently portrayed, and with an ease and vigor 
of style that lend a peculiar charm to the book, and rivet the atten- 
tion of the reader from cover to cover. It is really refreshing to 
meet with such a work as this in these degenerate days of namby- 
pamby novels, so enervating to mind and morals. Captain Glazier's 
work elevaies the ideas, and infuses a spirit of commendable patriot- 
ism into the young mind, by showing the youth of the country how 
nobly men could die for the principles they cherished and the land 
they loved." 

The Chicacro Inter-Ocean writes as follows: 

** It is correct in facts, graphic in its delineations, and in all its 
makeup is a most admirable volume. It will do the young men, and 
even those older, good to glance at these pages and read anew the 
perils and hardships and sacrifices which have been made by the 
loyal men who met and overtiirew in battle the nation's enemies. 



362 SWORD AND PEN. 

The book is of absorbing interest as a record of brave deeds by as 
brave and heroic men as ever answered a bugle's call. The author 
writes no fancy sketch. He has the smoke and scars of battle in 
every sentence. He answered roll-call and mingled amid the ex- 
citing events he relates. No writer, even the most praised corre- 
spondents of the foreign journals, have given more vivid descriptions 
poul-stirring in their simple truthfulness, than Captain Glazier in his 
'Heroes of Three Wars.' " 

The Baltimore Sim writes: 

'"Heroes of Three Wars' is written by the masterly hand of one 
who has evidently enjoyed a personal acquaititance with many of 
the subjects introduced, and is not only thoroughly imbued with the 
spirit of his work, but as thoroughly inspires his readers. Captain 
Glazier has familiarized himself with all of the details of interest 
in the lives of a grand galaxy of heroes, and has put on paper, in a 
condensed and grai)hic form, a clear picture of what he has treas- 
ured up in his own mind. We know of no book that contains so 
faithful a presentation of our brave defenders in so condensed and 
satisfactory a form." 

The Philadelphia TVmcs observes : 

"The soldier-author does his work in an artless, patriotic, beautiful 
style, and gives to his readers a real and not an imaginary idea of 
army life in all its lights and shades. Captain Glazier has laid his 
countrymen under lasting obligations to him, especially iu this new 
boak, Heroes of Three Wars.' " 

The Cincinnati Enquirer remarks: 

"Captain Glazier rises above the conventional war-writers* idioms, 
nnd gives his v/ork a place in literature and history. Here is found 
the stern actuality of war's fearful tug ; here the beautiful pathos of 
pure manly sentiment flowing from the heart of many a brave soul 
on the battle's eve ; here the scenes of sad and solemn burial where 
warriors weep. The din of battle on one page, and the jest at tJie 
peril past on the next — the life-test and the comedy of camp — these 
alternatingly checker the work over, and give the reader a truer 
insight into the perils and privations of our brave defenders than 
any book we have read." 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 

Froip Soston to San Francisco. — An unparalleled ride. — Object of 
tho journey. — Novel lecture tour, — Captain Frank M. Clark. — 
" F<jhoes from the Revolution." — Lecture at Trernont Temple. — 
Captain Theodore L. Kelly. — A success. — Proceeds of lecture. — 
Edward F. Rollins. — Extracts from first lecture. — Press notices. 

rr^HE story of the career of Willard Glazier will not 
JL be complete without some description of his 
nov^el and adventurous feat of riding on horseback 
across the continent of North America — literally from 
ocean to ocean, or from Boston to San Francisco. 
This unparalleled ride was satisfactorily accomplished 
by him in 1876 — the Centennial year. It was a 
long and trying journey, extending over a period of 
two hundred days, and a distance of four thousand 
one hundred and thirty-three miles, but at the same 
time a journey of great interest. His object was to 
study, at comparative leisure, the line of country 
through which he would pass, and to note the habits 
and condition of the people he came in contact with. 
The knowledge thus laboriously acquired he purposed 
placing before the public in book form. 

While thus in the commendable pursuit of knowl- 
edge, he also contemplated making some practical 
return for t!ie many kindnesses and courtesies he had 
received at the hands of soldiers since the disband- 
ment of the volunteer army, and the wide circulation 
27 (3G3) 



364 



SWOPiD AND PEN. 



of the first product of his pen, "The Capture, Prison- 
Pen and Escape;" and it had occurred to him that to 
accomplish this lie might turn his journey to beneficial 
account by lecturing at the various towns he visited, 
and handing over the proceeds to the widows' and 
orphans' fund of the " Grand Army of the Republic/' 
of which patriotic society he was a member; or to some 
other benevolent military organization. 

The thought no sooner entered his mind than, with 
his usual promptitude, the resolution was fonned, and, 
with the following letter of introduction from Ca})tain 
Frank M. Clark, of New York, he at once pro- 
ceeded to Boston : 



.VI XG Place, ) 

KK, April 20, 1876. ) 



4 Irving Place, 

Neav York 



To Comrades of the G. A. R. : 

I have been intimately acquainted with Captain Willard Glazier, 
a comrade in good standing of Post No. 29, Department of New 
York, " Grand Army of t)ie Republic,'^ for the past eight years, 
and know him to be worthy the confidence of every loyal ir.an. 
He is an intelligent and courteous gentleman, an author of good 
repute, a soldier whose record is without a stain, and a true comrade 
of the "Grand Army." I l)espeak for him tlie earnest and cordial 
support of all comrades of the Order. 

Yours very ir\\\y in F., C. and L., 
Frank M. Clark, 

l.atf A. A. O. ]Vpiirtnipnt .»f Ni-w Yoik.G. A. R. 

On the evening of the eighth of May, 1876, our hero 
tlelivered a lecture at Tremont Temple, Boston, apro- 
pos of the Centennial year, entitled." Echoes from the 
Revolution." This was the first occasion of any im- 
portance on which he had ever appeared on the ros- 
trum. It may here be mentioned! that his friends 
strongly recommended him to deliver the first lectiu'c 
before a smaller and less critical audience than he 



Mt:f:^\ffr7i 




366 SWORD AND PEN. 

would be likely to confront in Boston, and thus pre- 
pare himself for a later appearance in the literary cap- 
ital ; but our soldier reasoned that as lecturin*^ was a 
new experience to him, his military education dic- 
tated that, if he could carry the strongest works tiie 
weaker ahuig the line would fall, as a matter of course, 
and so resolved to deliver his first lecture in Tremont 
Temple. The lecture, as we have said, had been 
prepared with a view to its delivery at various towns 
and cities on the route he contem])lated traveling. 
He was introduced to his Boston audience by Caj)tain 
Theodore L. Kelly, Commander of Post 15, Grand 
Army of the Republic, and was honored by the pres- 
ence on the platform of representatives from nearly 
all the Posts of Boston. Captain Kelly introduced his 
comrade in the following com])limentary manner: 

" Ladies and Grxtlemen : It gives me pleasure to 
have the honor of introducing to you one who, by his 
services in the field and by the works of his pen, is 
entitled to your consideration, and the confidence of the 
comradesof the 'Grand Army of the Republic' I desire 
to say that he comes well accredited, furrdshed with 
the proper vouchers and documents, and highly en- 
dorsed and recommended by the officers of the Depart- 
ment of the State of New York. Though young in 
years, his life has been one of varied and exciting 
ex[)erience. Born in the wilds of St. Lawrence County, 
New York, his education was drawn from the great 
book of nature; and from his surroundings he early 
in.bibed a love of liberty. His early associations 
naturally invested him with a love of adventure and 
excitement, and when the call of war was heard he 
at once responded, and enlisted in the Harris Light Cav- 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 367 

airy, with which corps he passed through many exciting 
scenes of march and fray. His experience amid the 
various vicissitudes of the war, in camp and field and 
prison, have been vividly ])ortrayed by his pen in his 
various publications. Still inspired by this love of 
adventure, he proposes to undertake the novelty of a 
journey across the continent in the saddle. His objects 
are manifold. While visiting scenes and becoming 
more familiar with his own country, he will collect 
facts and information for a new book, and at his vari- 
ous stopping-places he will lecture under the aus{)ices 
and for the benefit of the 'Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic,' to whose fraternal regard he is most warmly com- 
mended. Allow me then, ladies and gentlemen, with- 
out further ceremony, to present to you the soldier- 
author, and our comrade, Willard Glazier." 

The lecture proved a success both financially and in 
the marked pleasure with which it was received by a 
very select audience. In fulfilment of his generous 
purpose in the application of the proceeds. Glazier on 
the succeed inir mornino; addressed a letter to the Assist- 
ant Adjutant-General, Department of ]\Iassachusetts, 
Grand Army of the Rei)ublic, in the following words: 

Eevere House, Boston, I^Fass., ) 
3Iaij 9th, 187G. ) 

Captain Charles AV. Thompson, 

A. A. G. Department of Massachusetts, G. A. R. 
Comrade: I take pleasure in handiug you the net proceeds of 
my lecture delivered at Tremont Temple last night, which I desire 
to be divided equally between Posts 7 and 15, G. A. R., of Boston, for 
the benefit of our disabled comrades, and the needy and destitute 
wards of the "Grand Army." Gratefully acknowledging many 
Hivors and courtesies extended to me in your patriotic city, 

I am yours in F., C. and L., 
Willard Glazier. 



3G8 SWORD AND PEN. 

To tliis tlie following rosponse was received: 

IlEADCiUAKTEKS, l^NCAMPMENT JoiIN A. AXDREW, ) 

Post 15, Deit. of Mass., (J. A. K., \ 
Boston, Mny 12th, 187C. J 

Captain Willaud Glazter: 

Comrade: In obedience to a vote of this Post, I am pleased to 
transmit to you a vote of thanks for the money generously donated 
by yon, thrfJMJih our Commar.der, as our quota of the proceeds of your 
lecture in this city; and also the best wishes of the comrades of this 
Post fv)r you personally, and for the success of your lecture tour 
from sea to sea. Yours in F., C. and L., 

Edward F. Rollins, 

Adjutant of Post. 

We have said the lecture was a success, and as an evi- 
dence of the appreciation by the audience of its subject, 
and the manner of its delivery, together with the 
friendly feeling manifested towards the lecturer, we 
adduce the following: 

Department of Mass., 
" Grand Army of the Republic. 
To Captain WiUanl Glazier: Boston, June mit, 1876. 

Dear Sir and Comrade: 
The undersigned comrades of "John A. Andrew " Encampment, 
Post 15, Department of Massachusetts, G. A. R., desire to testify to 
the pleasure a.^brded them by your lecture delivered at Tremont 
Temple on May 8th ; also, to return their thanks for the liberal do- 
nation presented to this Post; and at the same time to express the 
hope that you may be successful in your object and journey. 

[Signed.] 
Theodore L. Ke'L'ly, Commander. Thomas Langiiam. 
Edward F. Rollins, Adjutant. J. Henry Brown. 
W. Brooks FrvOTiiiNGiiAM. George "W. Powers, Chaplain. 

Jajnies T. Price. Robert AV. Storer, Q. M. S. 

Frank Bowman. Oliver Downing. 

Theodore L. Baker. James McLean. 

AVilliam S. "Wallingford. 

Before proceeding with our account of the journey, 
let us dwell for a moment upon the features of the 



i 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 369 

lecture prepared by "VYillard Glazier for delivery at 
Boston. As might have been expected, it was a mili- 
tary-historical lecture, adapted to the understanding 
and taste of a mixed and educated audience, and was 
written in the same earnest, original, patriotic and 
rousing style that characterizes his writings throughout. 
Some parts of this lecture, in our opinion, are worthy 
of coiuparison with the oratorical deliverances of emi- 
nent and })ractised lecturers, and that the reader may 
judge for himself if the "Echoes of the Rev^olution '' 
lose aught of their sonorousness at this distant date, 
W'hen the reverberation reaches them through a lecture, 
we here present an abstract of the opening : 

INTRODUCTORY. 

'^The year 1876 re-echoes the scenes and events of 
a hundred years ago. In imagination we make a })il- 
griniage back to the Revolution. We visit the fields 
whereon our ancestors fought for liberty and a Re- 
public. "We follow patriots from Lexington to York- 
town. I see them walking through a baptism of blood 
and of fire; their only purpose liberty; their only in- 
centive duty; their only j)ride their country; and their 
only ambition victory. I see them with Warren and 
Prescott at Bunker Hill; I see them with Washington 
at Valley Forge, hatless, without shoes, half-clad, 
and often without food ; encamped in fields of snow ; 
patiently enduring the rigors of a northern winter. I 
see them pu^^^iing their way through the ice of the 
Delaware. I see them at Saratoga, at Bennington, 
at Princeton, and at Moimiouth. I follow Marion 
and his daring troopers througli the swamps of Georgia 
and the Carolinas. And, finally, we come to that 



370 SWORD AND FEN. 

immortal day at Yorktown, when Cornwallis surren- 
dered his sword and command to George Wasliini^ton. 
"All the world is familiar with the causes which led 
to the strugt^le for independence in America. We all 
know the spirit which animated the people of the Col- 
onies, from the seizure of Sir Edmond Andross in 
1688 to the destruction of the tea in Uoston harbor 
in 1774. No American is ignorant of the efforts of 
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Joseph Wan-en, Pat- 
rick Henry, Alexander Hamilton, Paul Revere, and 
others, at clubs, in newspapers, in pulpits, in the streets, 
and in coifee-houses, to guide and prepare the people 
for the aj)proaching crisis. All the facts from the be- 
ginning to the close of that memorai)le conflict are 
given in s(;hool-books, as well as in more pretentious 
history. But the immediate cause of the march of 
the English troops from Boston to Concord seems to 
be necessary to a comprehensive view of the subject. 

"On the nineteenth of April, 1775, a handful of tlie 
yeomanry of Massachusetts, obeying a common impulse, 
came hurriedly together, confronted a force of English 
regulars outnumbering them ten to one, received their 
fire, were repulsed, and left eighteen of their number 
dead and wounded on the green in front of Lexington. 
On the same day, at Concord, less than four hundred 
undisciplined militia met a regiment of the enemy, 
fired upon them, put them to flight, and compelled 
them to retire to their intrenchments 'M, Boston. It 
was the first step in that war which gave us a Republic, 
and may be classed in history as one of the decisive 
conflicts of modern times. 

"Lexington and Concord were not the great battles 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 371 

of tlie Revolution ; they were, in fact, only skirmishes 
as compared with the more sanguinary actions; but I 
dwell upon them as the opening scenes, the starting- 
points, where the first shots were fired in an eight 
years' war against British rule and British oppression 
in Ainerica. ..... 

JOHN STARK. 
" Despair was turned into joy by the telling victories 
of the Americans at Trenton and Princeton, and the 
country began to see that her precious blood had not 
been si)illed in vain. Just at this juncture of affairs, 
when it was necess;?ry to follow up the tide of victory 
with vigorous work, the term of enlistment of most of 
the men expired, and the personal popularity and in- 
fluence of the leaders w^as thus })ut to the test. Would 
the men go, or could they be induced to stay through 
another term of enlistment before seeking the respite 
they desired at their homes? At this critical period, 
John Stark made an earnest apj)eal to his regiment, 
and every man without exception re-enlisted for six 
weeks under the banner of their beloved leader. Then 
Stark went to New Hampshire for recruits, and hun- 
dreds flocked around his standard. 

*' Soon after the surrender of Cornwallis, General 
Stark returned once more to his home and farm. He 
had served his country long and faithfully, and retired 
from his protracted period of active service beloved 
by the people and full of honors. He lived to be 
ninety-four years oid, and consequently witnessed the 
war of 1812. 

" He sleejis on the banks of the Merrimac, nor heeds 
the noisy rush of the river as it speeds on its mission 



372 SWORD AND PEN. 

to the sea. No clash of musketry, no roar of cannon 
will ever waken him more from his last (leop repose. 
Men call it death, but if it be death, it is that of the 
body only, for his memory still lives and speaks to us 
across the years. It bids us be noble and unselfish, 
and high of purj)Ose, and grand of aim. Will the on- 
coming generations who con the story of the life of 
John Stark listen to the preacliing of such an example 
in vain? ..... 

PERORATION. 

"The surrender of Cornwallis may be considered 
the closing scene in the war of the lievolution. The 
grim spectre of British rule over the American Col- 
onies vanished like the smoke of battle, while hirelings 
were trembling and the patriot was prince. That was 
indeed a day of trium{)h — a day of rejoicing. It was 
to the j>atriots the crown of all their efforts. A long, 
loud, thrilling shout of joy arose from the victorious 
band of Washington, and as the tidings of actual sur- 
render were borne throughout the country, the people 
everywhere l)roke forth in wild huzzahs that echoed 
and re-echoed along the plains and among the hills, 
from the lakes to the gulf, and from the Atlantic to 
the mountains. There was joy because there was to 
be no more needless sacrifice of life; because the 
soldier could now exchange the camp for his home; 
the im[)lements of war for the implements of industry ; 
the carnage of battle for tlie amenities of j)eace. 

"The work for which they buckled on the armor 
was accomj)lished. They did not rush to arms for the 
love of glory, nor to ward off an imaginary foe. They 
came at their country's call, and having achieved her 
iudepeudeuce, they were now ready for the pursuits of 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 373 

peace. They even longed for the coveted seclusion 
of their honies, and the sweet security of tlieir firesides. 
I see them now marshaled for the last time to receive 
an honorable discharge from a long campaign, the 
ensigns of victory everywhere abovo them, the air 
vocal with the benedictions of a grateful people. But 
on that great day of final discharge, at the last roll- 
call, the heroes were not all there to answer to their 
names; there were vacant places in the ranks. In the 
nianthing and counter-marching, in the assault and in 
the defence; in the swamp and in the prison, mid the 
fever and the })estilence, the patriots faltered not, but 
fell as ilills the hero, nobly daring, bravely dying, and 
though dead they are not forgotten: their works do 
follow, and will forever live, after them 

"Justice to our heroic ancestors does not forbid ref- 
erence to the equally gallant * Boys in Blue,' who by 
their invincible valor on the battle-fields of the Rebel- 
lion ])reserved the unity of the Republic. 

" The fight is done, and away in the far horizon the 
glorious days are waxing dim. Even now, it is the 
bearded men who speak of Gettysburg; and children 
clasp the knees that marched to Corinth and Chicka- 
mauga. Year after year our soldiers meet to talk of 
glory ; and year by year their ranks grow thinner, 
older, grayer; and, by and by, the last survivors of 
the war for the Union will sleep with their brothers 
who fell at Bunker Hill." 

The press of Boston were highly commendatorv in 
tlieir notices of the lecture and its deliverv, as will be 
seen by th-c tbliowing extract from the Globe: 

"A very fair audiGnce, considering llie unfair condition of tjie el- 
ements, was. gathered in Treraont Temple last niglit, to hear Captain 



374 SWORD AND PEN. 

Glazier's lecture upon ' Echoes from tlie Revolution.' The frequent 
applause of the audience evinced not only a sympathy with the 
subject, but an evident liking of the manner in wliich it was deliv- 
ered. The lecture itself was a retrospective view of the leading 
incidents of the Revolution. It would have been unfair to expect 
to hear anything very new upon a subject with Avhich the veriest 
school-boy is familiar ; but Captain Glazier wove the events together 
in a manner which freed the lecture from that n)ost unpardonable 
of all faults, which can be committed upon the platform — dulness. 
He passed over, in his consideration of the Revolution, the old scenes 
up to the time when Cornwallis surrendered up his sword and com- 
mand to George Washington. ' The year 1876,' said Captain Glazier, 
* re-echoes the scenes and events of a hundred years ago. In imagina- 
tion we make a pilgrimage back to the Revolution. We visit the 
fields where(m our ancestors fought for liberty and a republic. We 
follow patriots from Lexington to Yorktown. I see them pushing 
their way through the ice of the Delaware — I see them at Saratoga, 
at Bennington, at Princeton, and at Monmouth. I follow Marion 
and his daring troopers through the swamps of Georgia and the 
Carolinas ; ' and in following them up, the lecturer interspersed his 
exciting narrative with sundry droll episodes. Treating of the battles 
of Trenton and Princeton, lie expatiated upon the devoted heroism 
of John Stark, and briefly traced his career until, at Bennington, 
Burgoyne's victor announced to his comrades, * We must conqiier 
to-day, my boys, or to-night Molly Stark's a widow,' One battle 
after another was handled by the lecturer in a pleasing manner, 
showing that he was thoroughly familiar with the subject he had 
chosen for his theme. After speaking in a most zealous manner of 
the troops on land. Captain Glazier remarked : * Our victories on 
the ocean during the war of the Revolution were not less decisive 
and glorious than those achieved on land. John Paul Jones and 
the gallant tars who, under his leadership, braved the dangers of the 
deep, and wrested from proud Britain, once queen of the sea, that 
illustrious motto which may be seen high on our banner beside the 
stars and stripes.' 

"Captain Glazier made special mention of the naval engagement 
between the Bon Homme Richard and the British man-of-war Sera- 
pis, which took place in September, 1789. He described in glowing 
words the fierce nature of that memorable contest, until the cap- 
tain of the Serapis, with his own hand, struck the flag of England to 
ihe free stars and stripes of young America. Captain Glazier has 
elements in him which, carefully matures! antl nurtured, will make 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK, 375 

him successful on the platform, as he has already proved himself in 
the fields of literature. He has a strong and melodious voice, a 
gentleuianly address, and unassuming confidence. He was presented 
to the audience by Commandant Kelly, of Post 15, ' Grand Army 
of the Republic,' in a brief but eloquent speech. Captain Glazier 
will start on his long ride to San Francisco, from the Revere House, 
this morning, at 9.30, and will be accompanied to Bunker Hill and 
thence to Brighton, by several distinguished members of the 'Grand 
Army,' and other gentlemen, who wish the captain success on his 
long journey." 

The Boston Post said : 

" The lecturer spoke with a soldier's enthusiasm of those stirring 
times. In a very eloquent manner he traced the movements of the 
Revolutionary heroes from that day in April, 1775, when the undis- 
ciplined militia at Concord put the red-coats to flight and forced 
them to retire to their entrenchments at Boston, onward through 
the various battles to the surrender of Cornwallis, The diflTerent 
acts passed in rapid succession before the audience, and were enliv- 
ened with interesting details. In touching upon the difl!erent 
battles, the lecturer descanted upon the more eminent individuals 
whom the fate of war and opportunity brought to the front, and en- 
shrined forever in the gallery of patriots. Bunker Hiil came in for 
especial notice, where * many brave and noble men gave up their 
lives.'. . . . 

" Captain Glazier was frequently and loudly applauded during the 
delivery of his lecture. His voice is rich and powerful, his intona- 
tion accurate, and his general manner could. not help imparting 
Interest to the stirring deeds which he so graphically delineated." 



CHAPTER XXXIL 

FROM BOSTON TO CHICAGO. 

In the saddle. — Bunker ITill. — Arrives in Albany. — Reniiniscences. 
— The Soldiers' Home. — Contributions for erecting Soldiers' 
Home. — Rece{)ti.)n at Rochester. — Bnfiido. — Dunkirk. — Swan- 
ville. — Cleveland. — ^lassacre of General Custer. — Monroe. — 
Lectures for Custer jMonument. — Father of General Cu>ter. — 
Detroit. — Kalamazoo. — An adventure. — Gives "Paul Revere" a 
rest. — Decatur. — Niles. — Michigan City. — Chicago. 

FROM a journal kept by Captain Glazier during 
his horsebaek ride from ocean to ocean, we shall 
gather most of the incidents of his journey — a journey, 
so far as we are aware, without any precedent, and 
having for its sole object the acquireiuent of knowledge. 
His intention was to lecture in the leading cities and 
villages througli wliich he passed, in the interest of the 
relief fund of the "Grand Army of tiie Republic,'^ to 
which order he was greatly attached. 

The Boston Globe of May ninth, 187G, contained the 
following brief notice: 

"Boston to San Francisco. — Captain Willard Glazier started 
from the Revere House this morning at eleven o'clock, on horseback, 
for San Francisco. Quite a gathering of his friends and comrades 
of the 'Grand Army' were present to wish him God-speed. He 
was escorted by Colonel John F. Finley and E. A. Williston, who 
were mounted ; and Adjutant-General Charles W. Thomp-;on, De- 
partment of Massachusetts, 'G. A. R. ;' Comman ler Theo. L. Kelly, 
of Post 15; Adjutant (haflou Fenno, of Post 7, and many others 
in carriages, who will accompany him to Bunker Hill and thence 
to Brighton." 
(376) 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 377 

The Captain's horse, which he had named "Paul 
Eevere," was a noble creature, black as jet, of good 
pedigree, and possessing, in no slight measure, the ster- 
ling qualities of endurance, pace, and fidelity, albeit 
occasionally somewhat restive and wilful. 

On leaving the '' Revere," the party referred to in 
the above notice proceeded to Bunker Hill, gazed rev- 
erentially at the monument commemorating the famous 
battle, and then headed for Brigliton. The short jour- 
ney had been rendered comfortless by a continuous 
downfall of rain, and when the friends halted at the 
Cattle-Fair Hotel f )r dinner, they were all more or 
less drenched to the skin. 

Much cordial interest was manifested in the work 
the captain had undertaken and the motives that 
actuated him; and at length, taking leave of his 
friendly escort, he pushed forward through Worcester 
Springfield, Pittsfield, Nassau, and on to Albany, cov- 
ering a distance of two hundred miles. At Beckett 
he found " Paul's " back becoming sore, and as a good 
rider is always humane to his horse, he removed the 
saddle, washed the abrasion with cold water, and l)efore 
resuming his journey put a blanket under the saddle- 
cloth, which kindly care afforded "Paul" considerable 
relief. At Pittsfield, Glazier delivered his fourth lec- 
ture in the Academy of Music, being introduced to his 
audience by Captain Brewster, Commander of the 
Pittsfield Post,«Grand Army of the Republic." 

His journey from Pittsfield was by the Boston and 
Albany Turnpike, over the Pittsfield Mountain, pass- 
ing the residence of Honorable Samuel J. Tilden, then 
Governor of New York, and a candidate for the Presi- 
dency. Starting from Nassau at eleven o'clock, he 
28 



378 SWOBD AND FEN. 

reached the old Barringer Homestead soon after. It 
was with this family tliat he had spent his first night 
in Rensselaer County, sixteen years before, when look- 
ing for a school to teach, and he could not resist the 
temptation to stop a few minutes at Brockway's, where 
he had boarded the first week after entering the school 
at Schodack Centre as a teacher. At the hotel he 
found Mrs. Lewis, the landlady, awaiting his approach, 
as she had been told he would pass that way. He also 
halted for a moment at his old school-house, where he 
found Miss Libby Brockway, one of the youngest of 
his old scholars, teaching the school. " Thoughts of 
Rip Van Winkle,^' he says, ^'flitted across my imagi- 
nation as I contrasted the past with the present.'^ 

On the eighteenth of May Captain Glazier reached 
the fine old city of Albany, capital of his native State, 
and in the evening of the same day delivered his fifth 
lecture at Tweddle Hall. 

Thrilling memories awaited him in Albany. Here, 
in 1859, he entered the State Normal School. It was 
here his patriotism was aroused by intelligence of the 
firing upon Fort Sumter, and he at once formed the 
resolution to enter the army in defence of the Union ; 
and it was in Albany that the first edition of his first 
book saw the light through the press of Joel Munsell, in 
the autumn of 1865. Here, it may be said, his career 
in life commenced, when, leaving his country home 
in Northern New York, he entered the Normal 
School. 

The erection of a Soldiers' Home having been re- 
cently projected, Glazier called on the adjutant general 
at the State House, in relation to his lecturing in the 
interest of the fund for that purpose. Colonel Taylor, 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 379 

assistant adjutant-general, whom he had known for 
some years, presented him to General Townsend, and 
he was recommended to see and consult with Captain 
John Palmer, Past Grand Commander of the State, 
G. A. R. 

Nothing can better prove the disinterested motives 
and objects of Willard Glazier in undertaking his long 
and tedious journey on horseback, than the numerous 
voluntary offerings he made to certain military organ- 
izations whose claims so forcibly presented themselves 
to him. This was simply characteristic of him. He 
has never valued money but for the practical uses to 
which it may be applied in the amelioration of the con- 
dition of others. Simple in his habits, and unostenta- 
tious in his mode of life — indulging in no luxuries — 
he has managed by sheer hard work to accumulate a 
fair fortune, which is of value to him only so far as he 
can do good with it — first to those having the strongest 
domestic claims upon him, and secondly, to his com- 
rades of the camp and the battle-field. 

The following letters will explain themselves : 

Albany, New York, \ 
May 2Sth, 1876. / 
Captain John Palmer, Past Grand Commander, 
Department of Xew York, G. A. R. 
Dear Sir and Comrade: I feel great pleasure in handing you 
herewith, forty dollars, which I wish to be applied to the fund for 
t!ie erection of a Soldiers' Home, as lately proposed by our comrades 
at Brooklyn. Should it be your pleasure to endorse my lecture 
tour across the State, I feel confident that I could raise from five 
hundred to a thousand dollars for this most worthy object. Pledg- 
ing my best efforts in the work, which I hope I need scarcely add, 
enlists my warmest sympathies, I have the honor to remain, 
Yours in F., C. and L., 

Willard Glazier. 



380 SWORD AND PEN. 

Captain Palmer, in acknowledging the donation, 
wrote as follows : 



Headquarters Department of New York, "j 
"Grand Army of the Republic," > 

Albany, 3Iay 31s/, 1876. J 
Captain Willard Glazier: 

Comrade : Your gift of forty dollars to the fund for the erection 
of the " Soldiers' Home " is duly received, and the same has been 
forwarded to Captain E. O. Parkinson, Chairman Soldiers' Home 
Committee, Brooklyn, New York, for which accept my thanks. 
Very truly yours, in F., C. and L., 

John Palmer, 
Department Commander. 

On the twenty-second of May, " * Paul ' being in good 
condition and the best of spirits,'^ our soldier-author 
started for Schenectady, paying his respects to Captain 
Palmer on his way up Washington Avenue. Schenec 
tady was reached at four o'clock P. M. through fre 
quent showers of rain. Putting up at Gwinn's Hotel 
he delivered his lecture at Union Hall at the usua 
hour in the evening, to a fair audience, notwithstand 
ing the rain. 

The Schenectady Union had heralded his approao/ 
by the following notice : 

" Captain Glazier. — This noted soldier, author, rider, and raidet 
who raided during the war with General Kilpatrick, will advanij 
upon this place next Monday, and in the evening lecture upo 
' Echoes from the Revolution.' Captain Glazier is a member of tfi - 
* Grand Army ' in good standing, and will be assisted here by tt 
members of Post 14, with whom he will divide the profits of H.^ 
lecture. The Captain was an inmate of Libby Prison at one tin £• 
during the war, and finally made his escape to the Union lines 
The book entitled ' Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape,' and sever** 
other war books, were produced by him." 

Beaching Fonda, May twenty-sixth, we find the £•*• 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 381 

lowing entry in the Journal : "Scenery charming. I 
saw nothing in Massachusetts equal to the Valley of 
the Mohawk, and am surprised that novelist and poet 
have not found more material here for legendary 
romance.'' 

Passing through St. Johnsville, Little Falls, Utica, 
and Rome — where he met a large number of his 
"Grand Army" comrades, and was introduced to 
Hon. H. J. Coggeshall, Colonel G. A. Cantine, Hon. 
W. T. Bliss, and many others — he arrived in Syracuse 
June second, registered at the Vanderbilt House, 
and lectured at Shakespere Hall in the evening. 
Rochester was reached on the eighth, where the tenth 
lecture was delivered to an appreciative audience in 
Corinthian Hall — the introduction being made by 
Colonel Reynolds. The Rochester Democrat noticed 
the lecture in the following paragraph : 

"A very large audience assembled at Corinthian Hall last evening 
to listen to Captain Willard Glazier's lecture on * Echoes from the 
Revolution.' The lectui-e was a very interesting one, and the audi- 
ence were agreeably entertained. Captain Glazier proposes to go to 
Batavia, and from thence to Buffalo. He is meeting with deserved 
success in his journey on horseback from ocean to ocean, which in- 
creases as he becomes better known." 

It may here be remarked that during Captain Glazier's 
stay in Rochester, an exception was made to the usually 
courteous reception given him by the local press. One 
of the papers threw doubts on the genuineness of his 
credentials and the rectitude of his motives. This, 
however, had little effect on him. He was conscious 
of his own integrity of purpose, and of being guided 
by a desire to do good while seekiDg; knowledge and 
recreation in ais own way, and tlie only notice wo Hnd 



382 SWOIiD AND FEN. 

of the circumstance in his Journal is in a few words 
under date of June eleventh : " Was pleased with an 
article in the Express^ contradicting falsehoods in the 
Unions 
The following is the article referred to : 

" On Friday our evening cotemporary took occasion to treat Cap- 
tain Willard Glazier, who lectured in Corinthian Hall the night 
previous, with a degree of contempt and misrepresentation sug- 
gestive of Confederate sympathies on the part of the writer. As to 
the methods of Captain Glazier's business we have nothing to do. 
As a man and a soldier, he is above reproach. We have examined 
the original documentary testimonials to his military character, and 
no man could be better endorsed. That he has devoted himself 
since the war to illustrate the war of the rebellion in books and 
upon the rostrum is to his credit, and certainly to the benefit of the 
people whose patriotism he keeps alive by his appeals with pen and 
tongue. Doubt was cast upon his services on account of his youth. 
But the fact stands that Willard Glazier was a captain of cavalry at 
the age of eighteen, certainly a higher record than that of a stay-at- 
home Copperhead. He performed his duty, was honorably dis- 
charged, and is a member in good standing of that noble organiza- 
tion of veterans, the ' Grand Army of the Republic' We trust 
that when Captain Glazier comes again to Rochester, he will have 
better treatment and a still better audience. His trip across the 
continent will result in the public's having a record of observations 
which cannot fail to be valuable and entertaining." 

Batavia, Croft's Station, Crittenden and Lancaster 
were passed through, the usual courtesies tendered and 
accepted, lectures delivered with unvarying success, 
and the city of Buffalo reached on the morning of the 
nineteenth of June. 

With a soldier's instinct. Glazier halted here at 
the parade-ground, and witnessed the drill of the 
militia. He then located himself at No. 34 Oak 
Street, where he was visited by many comrades of the 
"Grand Army" and other prominent citizens of Buf- 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 383 

falo. Arrangements having been made, he lectured to 
a full house at St. James Hall, being introduced to 
the audience by Major John M. Farquhar. The fol- 
lowing endorsement had ap}>eared in the Buffalo 
Express the day preceding his arrival in the city, 
signed by prominent members of the *' Grand Army 
of the Republic ; '' 

Buffalo, New York, \ 

June 18<A, 1876. / 

Captain Willard Glazier served his cx)untry with great credit in 
the Harris Light Cavalry. He was a brave soldier and has a 
splendid army record. His numerous works upon army life, 
recording his personal experiences on the battle-field, in camp 
and in prison, are exceedingly interesting and of a highly patriotic 
character; they are universally commended by the press and by 
men of army experience. 

He is highly endorsed as a member in good staJiding of the 
"Grand Army of the Republic," and as a lecturer. 

The object of his lectures being to add to the fund for a Soldiers' 
Home in this State, we most cheerfully commend him to the people 
of this city, and earnestly hope he will receive a liberal patronage, 
and have a full house at SL James Hall on Monday evening, the 
nineteenth of June. 
[Signed] 
George N. Brown, William F. Rogers, 

George W. Flynn, G. L. Remington, 

John B. Weber, John M. Farquhar, 

James N. McArthur, Charles B. Dunning, 

G. A. Scroggs, Alfred Lytle, 

P. J. RiPONT, John A. Franke, 

Richard Flash. 

The lecture was a success, and the usual offering of 
the proceeds made to the fund of the Soldiers' Home. 

" Paul " was ordered at eight o'clock the following 
morning, and, again in the saddle, Glazier proceeded 
at a walk to North Evans, distant from Buffalo fifteen 
miles. His road laid along the banks of Lake Erie, 



384 SWORD AND PEN. 

a circumstance which he notes in his diary as one of 
the events of his journey, the beauty of the scenery, 
and fresh, cool air from the lake being exceedingly 
pleasant and grateful on a hot day in June. He rode 
" Paul " down to the beach and into the water up to 
his girths. 

June twenty-fourth, we find the following entry: 

"My journey from North Evans to Angola has 
been unusually pleasant. I could see the lake, and 
feel its cool refreshing influence nearly the whole 
distance.'' 

Angola is situated on the Lake Shore Railroad, about 
three-quarters of a mile from Lake Erie. Here Mr. J. 
S. Parker, formerly of Malone, New York, called upon 
him on business connected with the lecture, and in the 
course of conversation. Captain Glazier discovered that 
his visitor knew many of his old neighbors and ac- 
quaintances in Northern New York. The events of 
his early years along the banks of the Oswegatchie 
were discussed with much interest, and it doubtless 
formed a pleasing episode of his journey. The lecture 
was delivered with satisfactory results, at the regular 
hour, in a building that had once been a church, but 
was now used as the Town Hall, and the introduction 
made by Leroy S. Oatman. 

Dunkirk was reached June twenty-fifth, by way of 
the Buffalo Road. The beautiful lake, which had been 
very near the road from Buffalo to Angola, was now 
seldom seen, but the haying season had commenced, 
and the captain's love of nature was now gratified by 
the lively spectacle of the mowers and hay-makers — 
men, women and children at work in the fields as he 
rode past. Putting up at the Eastern Hotel, he was 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 385 

ready to deliver his lecture in the evening, and at 
Columbus Hall was intro^luced to a respectable au- 
dience by the Rev. J. A. Kummer, pastor of the 
Methodist church of Dunkirk. The following day 
being Sunday, he attended divine service at the Rev. 
Mr. Kummer's church. 

Before leaving Dunkirk the following testimonial 
>vas handed him ; 

Dunkirk, New York, ) 

June2bth, 1876. / 

Captain Glazier : 

We desire to express to you oar warm appreciation of vour 
highly instructive and most entertaining lecture delivered here this 
evening. We trust success beyond your mo:t sanguine exj>ectation8 
will attend you in your journey ; and we cheerfully recommend you 
and your lecture to any and all whom our endorsement might 
influence. 

[Signed] J. M. McWharf, M. D., 

J. A. Kummer, Paalor, 

P. E. MORRELL. 

Dunkirk, with its pleasant associations, was left 
June twenty-seventh, and, continuing along the Buf- 
falo Road, our cavalier stopped for dinner at Silver 
Creek. Here he found the farmers of Chautauqua 
County largely engaged in the cultivation f>f fruit and 
grain. The flourishing vineyards near Fredonia had 
also arrested his attention, giving promise of the exten- 
sive cultivation of the grape which has since marked 
this locality. At Westfield he lectured in the Metro- 
politan Hall, being introduced by ( 'eorge Wilson, 
Rsq., and on the following day passed through a fine 
fruit and grain region, stopping at a village named 
State Line for dinner. Here he had some trouble in 
finding the landlord of the c-aravansary, who, combin- 
ing the buDiness of " mine host" with that of a farmer, 



386 SWORD AND PEN, 

was at the time some distance away, industriously 
employed at hoeing corn. 

At five o'clock p. M., Captain Glazier reached the 
flourishing little town of North East, where he found 
a large crowd of people in front of the Haynes House 
awaiting his arrival. He was taken by surprise when 
told that he had been announced to deliver a lecture 
there that evening. The band of the place escorted 
him to the *^ Hall/' and, taking position in front of 
the audience, played "Hail Columbia" before, and 
" The Sword of Bunker Hill " after the lecture. This 
was a voluntary and quite an unexpected compliment 
to Captain Glazier, who was sensibly aifected by it. 
The " Hall " was so crowded that many were com- 
pelled to stand throughout the lecture, and if applause 
is any evidence of the satisfaction of the applauders, he 
might fairly consider his effort to entertain the " North 
Easters " a decided success. Captain Bronson Orton 
introduced him to this audience, a gentleman who, 
although now in the peaceful practice of the law, had 
been with Sherman's army in its memorable march 
through Georgia. 

Arrived at Erie, Pennsylvania, June twenty-ninth, 
Captain Glazier was cordially welcomed by Colonel F. 
H. Ellsworth, proprietor of the Reed House, who 
showed him many attentions while his guest. The 
lecture was delivered to a full house at the Academy 
of Music, the introduction being made by Hon. C. B. 
Carter. 

At Swanville he became the guest of John Jacob 
Swan, an old and worthy resident, after whom the village 
had been named. Everything was done for his comfort 
by the Swan family, of which we find some pleasant 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 387 

reminiscences noted in the Journal. Mr. Swan's son, 
Andrew, was a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry during the 
civil war, and the patriarch himself had participated in 
the war of 1812. '' Mr. Swan was one of the first set- 
tlers in Erie County," Captain Glazier notes, *^and al- 
though more than fifty years have passed, this old 
veteran still remembers distinctly, and describes mi- 
nutely, the scenes and events of his former life. He 
saw the first steamer launched on Lake Erie, and 
says it was regarded by the Indians as an evil omen : 
they styled it ' the devil's canoe,' were greatly fright- 
ened, and ran from the lake. . . . Took a stroll with 
Mr. Swan over his farm. He found great pleasure in 
showing me the wonderful changes which a half century 
has wrought upon his estate." 

Taking leave of this amiable family, he left for 
Girard, and found P. J. Farrington, his advance agent, 
awaiting him at the Central House. At the lecture in 
the evening he was introduced by Jacob Bender, Esq., 
a brass band adding to the entertainment, and after- 
wards serenading him at his hotel. The Girard Cos- 
mopolite came out on the next morning with the 
following notice of the lecture : 

"Captain Willard Glazier, tlie soldier-author and lecturer, now 
on a journey on horseback from Boston to San Francisco, reached 
this place on Saturday evening, and delivered his lecture, * Echoes 
from tlie RevoUition,' to a highly respectable audience, at Philhar- 
monic Hall. lie speakr, with a soldier's enthusiasm of those stir- 
ring times when our forefathers ' walked through a baptism of blood 
and of fire, their only purpose liberty; their only incentive dutyr 
tlieir only pride their country; and their only ambition victory.' 
He traces, in a very eloquent manner, tlie movements of the Revo- 
lutionary heroes from that day in April, 1775, when the undis- 
ciplined militia at Concord put the red-coats to flight and forced 
them to retire to their intrenchments at Boston, onward to the sur 



388 SWORD AND PEN. 

render of Cornwallis to Washington. . . . We are credibly in- 
formed that one of the chief objects of Captain Glazier's journey is 
to make observations and collect material for another book, which 
will no doubt be a very interesting one to read, and will add still 
greater honors to one who, though still a young man, has already 
acquired an enviable reputation as an author. After a very cordial 
shake of the hand from some comrades and citizens, the captain 
left the Central Hotel on his fine black horse, 'Paul Revere,' which 
has brought him safely thus far from Boston since the ninth of May, 
and which he proposes to ride to the Golden Gate by the first of 
December next." 

July third found Captain Glazier at Ashtabula, 
Ohio. The people everywhere, during his ride from 
Girard, were engaged in preparations for the celebra- 
tion on the following day of the glorious Centennial 
Fourth. It was his intention to have lectured at 
Ashtabula, but he was counselled not to do so, as al- 
most every man and woman in the place was upon 
some committee preparing for the next day's festivi- 
ties, and he would consequently get but a scant audi- 
ence. He therefore concluded not to deliver his lecture 
here, but to push forward on his journey. 

Under date July fourth, he writes : 

"Mounted 'Paul' at nine o'clock this morning in front of the 
Fisk House, Ashtabula. Thousands upon thousands of country 
people were pouring into the town as I rode out. The booming of 
cannon, blowing of engine whistles, ringing of bells, and the dis- 
charge of fire-arms of every variety and calibre, welcomed the dawn 
of the One Hundredth anniversary of American Independence." 

Willard Glazier suffered no occasion to pass that 
presented a chance of picking up useful information 
on topics connected with the localities he rode through 
— their population, industries, features of the country, 
prominent men, etc., his capacity for absorbing such 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 389 

knowledge being large, and the intention of utilizing it 
in the interest of the public having been his chief 
motive in undertaking the adventurous journey. The 
large amount of information thus collected has been 
reduced to system, and will, we trust, be shortly in 
the hands of the publisher. 

Cleveland — the " Forest City '^ — was his next desti- 
nation, and on July sixth he registered at the Forest 
City House, and delivered his lecture in the evening at 
Garrett's Hall. He was introduced by Major E. M. 
Hessler, of the "Grand Army of the Republic," who, in 
the name of many citizens and in testimony of their 
respect for the soldier, author, and lecturer, proposed 
a banquet on the following day. This, however, was 
modestly and respectfully declined. The result of the 
lecture is shown in the following letter : 



National Soldiers' Home, i 
Dayton, Ohio, July 27th, 1876. J 
Captain Willard Glazier: 

My dear Comrade : We have received through Major E. M. 
Hessler your generous donation to aid in erecting the Soldiers' 
Monument at the "Home." You liave Ihe hearty thanks of three 
thousand disabled veterans now on our rolls; and a cordial invita- 
tion to visit us when it is \'0ur pleasure to do so. Again we thank 
you. Please find receipt from our treasurer. 

Very respectfully, 

William Earnshaw, 
President, Historical and Monumental Society. 



While in Cleveland the terrible news of the massa- 
cre of General Custer by the Indians reached Captain 
Glazier, who, as a cavalry officer, had seen service 
with him in the late war, and felt for him that respect 
and love which only a true soldier knows for a brave 



390 SWORD AND PEN. 

leader. The stunning intelligence left a deep impres- 
sion, and in due time he showed his respect for the 
dead general by substantial aid rendered in the erection 
of a monument to his memory. 

The following letter was received before leaving the 

Forest City : 

PIeadquahters, Post No. 1, -j 
"Grand Army of the Republic," Department of Ohio, [ 
Cleveland, O., July Vlth, 187G. J 
Comrade: Through your unsolicited generosity I have the 
pleasure to acknowledge tiie receipt of the net proceeds of your lec- 
ture on " Echoes from the Revolution," delivered in our city July 
sixth, 1876, and by your direction have forwarded the amount to 
Chaplain William Earnshaw, President of the " Soldiers' Home 
Monumental Fund," at Dayton, to assist in erecting a monument to 
the memory of the veterans, wlio by the fortunes of war await the 
long roll at the National Military Home : and may your reward be 
no less than the love and gratitude of our unfortunate comrades. 
By order of 

General James Barnett, Commanding. 
E. M. Hessler, Q. M. 

Leaving Cleveland and the many friends who had 
flocked around him in that hospitable city, offering 
encouragement in his undertaking, Glazier proceeded 
on his route, accompanied a short distance on horse- 
back by an old scholar named Alexander Wilsey, whose 
affection for his teacher had not diminished by years 
of separation. Keeping along the lake-shore all day, 
and not a little tormented by the shoals of mosquitoes 
as the evening advanced, he rode into Sandusky City, 
July thirteenth, and delivered his lecture the same 
evening to a fair audience. He was introduced 
in a humorous and effective speech by Captain 
Culver, Judge of the Probate Court. 

Fremont, the pleasant home of President Hayes, was 
visited, and then on through Elmore to the flourishing 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 39 1 

city of Toledo, where he registered at the Boody House, 
July seventeenth. Introduced by Dr. J. T. Woods, 
G. A. R., lie lectured at Lyceum Hall, to an interested 
audience, who frequently signified their approval by 
applause. 

Passing through Erie, Michigan, Captain Glazier 
reached Monroe, July twenty -fourth, the committee of 
the Custer Monument Association receiving him at 
the City Hall. Arrangements were made for the de- 
livery of a lecture in the interest of the fund for the 
erection of the monument. This was of course most 
congenial to Glazier's feelings, Custer being his beau 
ideal of a soldier, and he therefore at once placed him- 
self in the hands of the committee, oifering them the en- 
tire proceeds of the lecture. The Monroe Monitor ^ of 
July twenty -sixth, noticed the proposal thus: 

" The lectnre announced to be given for the benefit of the Custer 
Monument Fund, on Monday evening at the City Hall, was post- 
poned for various reasons until Thursday evening at the same place. 
On Monday evening several members of the association met Captain 
Glazier, and were most favorably impressed with him. They are 
convinced that he is thoroughly in earnest, and his proposition is a 
most liberal one. He oifers to give the entire proceeds of his lec- 
tures to the association ; and not only in this city but throughout 
the State, he generously offers to do the same thing. This is cer- 
tainly deserving of the warm recognition of our own people at least, 
and we hope on Thursday evening to see the City Hall filled. 
Captain Glazier comes with the strongest endorsements from well- 
known gentlemen in the East, both as to his character as a gentle 
man and a soldier, and his ability as a speaker and writer. The 
captain served under the late General Custer in the cavalry, and 
has something to say regarding his personal knowledge of the dead 
hero. . . ." 

The lecture was duly delivered, and the following 
certificate placed in his hands: 



'•} 



392 SWORD AND PEN. 

Headquarters, ^ 

Custer National Monument Association, >■ 

Monroe, Mich., July 28lh, 1876. J 

This is to certify that the proceeds of the lecture hy Captain 

Willard Glazier in this city on Thursday evening, July 27th, 1876, 

liave been paid into the treasury of this association ; for which the 

members hereby tender him their sincere thanks, 

T. E. Wing, 

Treasurer. 

The following also is evidence of the benevolent aims 
of Captain Glazier during his journey in the saddle: 

IIeadquarteus, 
Custer National, Monument Association, 
Monroe, Mich., July 2Stk^ 1876. 
To Auxiliary Societies and Associatione of tlie 
Custer Monuvient Association : 

Captain Willard Glazier having kindly and generously volun- 
teered to devote the proceeds of his lectures through Michigan to 
the fund being raised by this Association for the erection of a monu- 
ment to the memory of the lat42 General George A. Custer, he has 
made arrangements to remit to our treasurer here the money de- 
rived from such lectures, and we bespeak for him your earnest 
endeavors in aid of our common, glorious cause. Respectfully, 

J. M. BULKLEY, 

Secretary. 

Before leaving Monroe, Glazier called upon Mr. E, 
J. Custerj the father of the deceased general, whom he 
represents as nearly crushed by the melancholy news 
of his son's tragic death. The worthy old gentleman 
was very courteous, and showed him some photographs 
and an oil-portrait of the late general, together with 
some relics from the Indian country which the general 
had sent him at different times. Mr. Custer seemed 
greatly interested in the journey on horseback, and 
asked the captain many questions concerning his plans 
for crossing the plains. Finally, he accompanied Cap- 
tain Glazier as far as Strong's Hotel, and witnessed his 
start from Monroe. During his stay in Monroe our 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 393 

soldier-autljor was introduced to several prominent 
geiitleaien of tlie place, and plans were discussed for 
availing themselves of his proffered services in behalf 
of the monument. The lecture was a financial success, 
and the whole of the proceeds were turned over to the 
Treasurer, Judge T. P]. Wing. ^' I gave them all, al- 
though they generously offered to divide witii ine," is 
the sim{)le entry in his journal under date July 
twenty-eighth. 

Passing through RockwfKjd, Trenton, Wyandotte, 
and Ecorse, all in tlie State of Michigan, he reached 
Detroit on the thirty-first of July, and was met by 
General AV^illiam A. Throop at the Russell House, as 
one of a committee appointed to confer with him on 
the subject of his lecture. At the usual hour the lec- 
ture was delivered to a full house at Saint Andrew's 
Hall, General L. S. Trowbridge introducing the lec- 
turer to the audience in very complimentary terms. 

The next morning the [)roceeds were turned over 
to the monument fund as indicated in the following 
letter to the treasurer, and its acknowledgment by the 
local committee. 

DETitoiT, Michigan, } 
Aufjml Ut, 1876. f 
T. E. Wing, Esq., Treasurer, 

Custer National Monument Association: 

Dear Sir: I send you through General L. S. Trowbridge of this 
city the net proceeds of my lecture delived at St. Andrew's Hall 
last night, the same to be applied to the fund of the Custer National 
Monument Association, for the erection of a monument to the mem- 
ory of the late General Custer at Monroe. I hope and expect to 
be able to send you much larger contributions as soon as the lecture 
season is fairly open. My horse is still in excellent condition, and 
J shall anticipate a delightful and successful ride across the Penin' 
sular State. Promising to write you again from Ypsilanti, I am 

Ever truly yours, 
29 WiLLARD Glazier. 



594 SWORD AND PEN. 

Detroit, Michtoan, ) 
AmjiiM l.s/, 1876. i 
Received of Captain Willanl Glazier, forty dollars, for the benefit 
of the Custer MoniiineMt Association, as the proceeds of his lecture 
at Detroit on the evening of July 31st, 187(), in ai<l of such asso- 
ciation. [Signed] L, 8. Tuowbridge, 

William A. Thkoop, 

Committee. 

While in Detroit, Captain Glazier visited all the 
public buildings and places of note, enjoying the cour- 
tesies and hospitality of many of its leading citizens; 
and, encouraged by the success he had met with so far 
in contributing to the Custer Monument Fund, he de- 
termined to devote the net pioceeds of all his lectures 
delivered between Detroit and Chicago to the same 
object. 

Leaving Detroit and j)assing through Inkster, he 
reached Ypsilanti through torrents of rain, and the same 
evening — August fifth — received calls at the Haw- 
kins House from a large number of patriotic gentlemen 
interested In the Custer monument. The lecture was 
duly delivered in Union Hall and the proceeds handed 
over to the fund. 

Arrived at Jackson, ^' a most enter})rising little city," 
as Captain Glazier notes, August ninth, and delivered 
liis lecture in the evening at Bronson Hall, to a very 
full house. The Jackson Citizen si\n\ on the following 
morning : 

" Captain Willard (Jlazier lectured last evening in the interest 
of the Custer Monument Fund. His lecture was a good historical 
review delivered with graceful rhetoric and at tinies real eloquence. 
The captain is still in the city giving his hoi*se — a noble Kentucky 
Black Hawk, whom he has ridden all the way from Boston, and 
whom he expects to carry him to San Francisco — a rest. He starts 
to-morrow morning for Battle-Creek, where he lectures on Saturday 
evening." 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 395 

Through Parma, Albion, and on to Battle-Creek, 
which was reached August twelfth. Lieutenant Eugene^ 
T. Freeman here took the role of host and welcomed 
Captain Glazier to the city, intioducing him to many 
admirers and fi'iends of the late General Custer. Ar- 
rangements were completed for the lecture, which took 
place at the usual hour in Stuart's Hall before a numer- 
ous and attentive audience — the introduction being 
made by Lieutenant Freeman, and the proceeds applied 
to the monument fund. The following day being 
Sunday the lieutenant's invitation was accepted to 
accompany him to church, where an introduction to 
the pastor, llev. Mr. Palmer, and others, took place. 
In the afternoon Captain Glazier was agreeably sur- 
j)rised i)y an invitation from Lieutenant Freeman to 
ride with him in his carriage to the delightful summer 
resort of that region — Goguac Lake; and in many 
other Avays Ijieutcnant Freeman manifested a very 
friendly and cordial feeling for him. 

Contrary to Captain Glazier's intention on setting 
out from Boston he yielded to invitations to lecture at 
Albion and Marshall, and, in the interest of the Custer 
Monument, also determined to visit South Bend, In- 
diana; and Grand Raj)ids, ^Michigan; which cities were 
not included in the route he had originally marked 
out for himself. 

At Kalamazoo he delivered his lecture to a crowded 
house, being introduced by Major Judson, late of Gen- 
eral Custer's staff. Nearing Comstock, Ca[)tain Glazier 
met with a serious adventure. His horse " Paid " 
becoming frightened by the approach of a train on the 
Michigan Central Railway, dashed over the embank- 
ment into the Kalamazoo River — a fall of nearly forty 



396 SWORD AND PEN. 

feet^ and the captain came very near losing his life. 
No bones were broken, however, the result being hap- 
pily confined to a considerable ducking and a no less 
considerable scare ; " Paul " having fared as ill as his 
master. 

The following letters and press notices will show the 
nature of the reception our soldier-author met with in 
Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and South Bend, respec- 
tively : 

Kalamazoo, Michigan, "> 
August ISth, 1876./ 
J. M. BuLKLEY, Esq., 

Secretary C. N. M. Association, 
Monroe, Michigan. 
Dear Sir: — I have the pleasure of transmitting to Judge Wing, 
through Major R. F. Judson, the net proceeds of my lecture delivered 
in this place on tiie evening of the sixteenth instant. I desire to 
accompany my gift with an acknowledgment of many courtesies ex- 
tended by the press and band of this patriotic village. I resume my 
journey this afternoon and shall speak at Niles, South Bend, and 
Laporte before the close of the present week. Hoping that your 
brightest anticipations for the "Monument" may be most fully 
realized, I remain, 

Always sincerely yours, 

Willard Glazier. 

Kalamazoo, Michigan, 
Augmt 19th, 1876. 
Received of Captain Willard Glazier the net proceeds of his 
lecture at this place, which sum is to be applied to the fund for the 
erection of a monument to the memory of the late General Custer, 
at Monroe City, Michigan. 

We take great pleasure in speaking of Captain Glazier in the 
liighest terms, not only on account of the self-devotion he has mani- 
fested in a noble cause, but of his indomitable perseverance and 
energy. We trust he will, wherever he goes, receive the unanimous 
support of the citizens whom he addresses, 

F. W. Cfrtenius, 
Late Colonel U. S. Vohinteers. 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 397 

I take great pleasure in fully endorsing the above and recom- 
mending to public confidence and support, Captain AVillard Glazier, 
in his efforts in behalf of the Custer Monument Association. 

K. F. JUDSON, 

Late aide to General Custer. 

From the South Bend Herald: 

"As heretofore announced in these columns, Captain Glazier deliv- 
ered his lecture * Echoes from the Revolution ' at the Academy of 
Mu?ic last evening. Promptly at eight o'clock, the lecturer, with 
Mr. J. F. Creed, appeared on the platform. Mr. Creed, in introducing 
the lecturer, stated the object of the lecture to be in aid of the Cus- 
ter Monument Association of Monroe, Michigan. He also read 
several letters introducing Captain Glazier to the public, from 
well-known citizens of Michigan, and acknowledging receipts of the 
proceeds of the lectures delivered in Detroit and Kalamazoo. The 
theme of the lecture afforded a fine field for the display of Captain 
Glazier's talents as a speaker. Possessing a fine imagination, good 
descriptive powers, and the real qualities of an orator, he could not 
fail to please the really intelligent audience which greeted him last 
evening. Probably one hour and a half were consumed in its de- 
livery, but the interest and attention of the audience did not flag 
nor tire, and when the speaker took leave of his audience, he was 
greeted with several rounds of applause." 

About this time his Boston friends were notified of 
his progress toward the setting sun in the following 
paragraph of the Bciston Inquirer : 

"Captain Willard Glazier, who undertook in May last to ride 
from this city to the Golden Gate on horseback, has reached Michi- 
gan, and has discoursed to large audiences at the various points along 
his route. The profits of his lecture at Cleveland, Ohio, were 
donated to the fund at Dayton, to assist in erecting a monument to 
the memory of the veterans who by the fortimes of war are destined 
to await the long roll-call at the National Military Home.' 

To return to his present point of departure, South 
Bend, Captain Glazier finding his horse "Paul "suft'er- 
ing from the accident previously recorded, and also 
from sore-back, left him with a veterinary surgeon for 



398 SWORD Ayn PEN 

treatment, and sped on liis way by rail to Grand 
Rapids. Here he leetured with favorable results, hav- 
injr been introduced bv General Innes. 

Said the Grand Rapids Eagle: 

" A very large audience gathered at Luce's Hall last night to 
hear Captain Willard Glazier. The speaker was earnest and 
impassioned, his lecture was delivered with a force and eloquence 
that pleased his hearers, and all who were in the hall went away 
glad that they had been there, and ready to add to the praises that 
have been bestowed on Captain Glazier as a soldier, author, and 
orator." 

Decatur, Dowa<]jiac, Paw-Paw, Niles, and Buchanan, 
were all reached by railway, for the purj)ose of giving 
^' Paul" a rest and an opportunity of recovering from 
his sore back. At Decatur, Glazier met an old com- 
rade of the " Harris Light," named George L. Darby, 
with whom a ])leasant exchange of reminiscences took 
place, and a cordial intercourse was renewed. " Thirteen 
years," says Captain Glazier in his Journal, " have 
slipped away, since the day of our capture at New Bal- 
timore, which led him to Belle Isle, and me to I^ibby 
Prison. . . Darby called this afternoon with fishing 
tackle, a!id proposed that we should go out to ' Lake 
of the W(iods,' a small lake not far from the village, 
and try our luck with hook and line. We went, and 
a delightful boat-ride followed, but in the matter of 
the fish which we tried to lure with tempting pieces of 
fresh meat, they are still enjoying their native free- 
dom." We suspect the friends were too intent on 
fighting their battles o'er again to give due attention 
to their occupation. 

The lecture here was delivered September fourth to 
a crowded house, over two hundred persons being coiu- 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 399 

pelled to stai.l for want of room to seat them. 
Captain Glazier was accompanied to the platform by 
several leading citizens, among whom were Hon. Ran- 
som Nutting, Rev. Mr. Hoyt, Professor S. G. Burked 
and Albert W. Rogers, Esq., Mr. Nutting presenting 
him to the audience. The following will show the 
opinion entertained of the lecturer: 

Decatur, Michigan, ) 
September 4th, 1876. / 
Captain Willard Glazier, 

My Dear Sir : — We take this means of expressing to you our ap 
preciation of the highly instructive and very entertaining lecture 
delivered by you at Union Hall this evening. 

Truly we admire your plan, and your generosity in giving the 
entire proceeds to the Custer Monument Fund. Our endorsement is 
the expression of our village people generally. You have made 
many friends here. 

May success attend you throughout your journey. 
Very respectfully, 

S. Gordon L>urked, 

PtANSOM XUTTING, 

Albert W. Rogers. 
Raving lectured successfully at the several inter- 
mediate towns before mentioned, Captain Glazier with 
''Paul" now directed his course to Rolling Prairie, 
Indiana (a place romantic only in name), and thence 
to Michigan Gity. From the latter point he journeyed 
by railway to Chicago, arrangements having been made 
for the delivery of his lecture in that city for the 
benefit of the monument fund. A very full house 
greeted him at Farwell Hall. Major E. S. Weedon 
in introducing the lecturer alluded in an eloquent and 
touching manner to the record of the gallant Custer. 
The lecture throughout its delivery was much applauded 
by the audience, who appeared greatly interested ; and 
the proceeds reached a handsome sum. 



4C0 SWORD AND PEN, 

The following entry occurs in the Journal under 
date, Chicago, September 12th, 1876 : 

"I shall now push on to Omaha and Cheyenne as 
rapidly as possible, in the hope of passing Sherman at 
the summit of the mountains before the snow is too 
deep to interrupt my progress. There are nine steps 
in my journey from Boston to San Francisco, namely, 
Albany, Buffalo, Toledo, Chicago, Omaha, Cheyenne, 
Salt Lake City, Sacramento, and San Francisco. I 
have now taken four of these nine steps, and shall 
undertake to pass the five remaining points by the 
first of December." 



I 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

FROM CHICAGO TO OMAHA. 

Retnrn-? to Michigan City. — Joliet. — Thomas Babcock. — Herl;ert 
Ulazier. — Ottawa. — La Salle. — Colonel Stevens. — Press Notice. — 
Taken for a highwayman. — Milan. — Davenport. — Press Notice. 
— Iowa City. — Des Moines. — Press Notice. — Attacked by prairie 
wolves. — Council Bluffs. — Omaha. 

CAPTAIN GLAZIER liaving succeeded so far in 
his novel and adventurous undertaking, felt lit- 
tle concern as to his ability to accomplish the entire 
journ'^y from ocean to ocean. He had ridden but one 
horse — his faithful " Paul," thus far, and having re- 
turned to Michigan City, found him quite, recovered 
and ready to pursue tlie journey. On the sixteenth 
of September he took his departure from the latter 
city, and after riding a distance of twenty-eight miles, 
rested for the night at Hobart, Indiana. 

On the seventeenth he crossed the boundary between 
Indiana and Illinois. On Grand Prairie, after 
<lark, his ears were made familiar with the peculiar 
howl of the prairie wolf, numbers of which followed 
in his track for a distance of two or three miles. Not 
having seen any of these animals before, he supposed 
them at first to be dogs, until advised by "Paul's" 
manner and movements that they were animals less 
friendly to his equine companion. 

At four o'clock in tiie afternoon. Glazier rode into 
Joliet, and met Mr. Thomas Babcock, his advance agent, 
on Jefferson Street. Preparations had been made here 

(401) 



402 SWORD AND PEN. 

for the delivery of the lecture, and several prominent 
citizens called upon him, having heard of his projected 
visit to the place. His brother Herbert, who was alf-o 
acting in the capacity of advance agent, had departed 
to Ottawa to prepare for a lecture there on the twen- 
tieth. While at Joliet, Captain Glazier stopped at the 
Robertson House, the proprietor of which, Mr. Conk- 
lin, sent word through the agent, that the captain was 
to consider himself his guest. 

At the suggestion of Mr. Conklin, Captain Glazier 
on leaving Joliet, rode his horse along the tow-path of 
the Michigan Canal, and borrowing a hook and line 
from a gentleman who was fishing, caught twenty-three 
I)erch in less than half an hour, tiie canal being swarm- 
ing with fish. 

Leaving Morris, in Grundy County, Illinois, his jour- 
ney lay along the north bank of the Illinois River, and 
after encountering a very severe rain storm, he reached 
Ottawa, September twentieth, stopping at the Clifton 
House. From the proprietors of this hotel he received 
many courtesies. The lecture, as arranged, was deliv- 
ered in the evening with the usual satisfactory results. 

On leaving Ottawa, the captain followed the tele- 
graph poles along the Illinois River, passing a large 
number of very fine corn-fields, and overtaking an em- 
igrant train on its journey from Ohio to Western Ne- 
braska. La Salle was reached at six o'clock on the even- 
ing of the twenty-first. Here he enjoyed the society 
and hospitality of Colonel R. C. Stevens, and was intro- 
duced to a number of other prominent gentlemen, who 
were attracted to him by their interest in the projected 
monument to General Custer. The lecture was deliv- 
ered at Opera Hall, Colonel Stevens making the 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 403 

introduction. The following letter may be presented 
here to sliow the estimation in which Captain Glazier 
continued to be held as he progressed in his journey 

westward : 

La Salle, Illinois, i 
September 2ofh, 1876. j 
To Captain Willard Glazier : I take pleasure in expressing 
to you on behalf of many of our citizens, the gratification afforded 
our people who listened to your instructive and entertaining lecture 
given at Opera Hall on Saturday evening. While in conversation 
with several of our prominent citizens— among them, W. A. Work, 
superintendent of our public schools; A. J. O'Connor, clerk of the 
City Court ; W. T. Mason, Esq., and others ; all of whom were present 
and heard your lecture— I was requested to write you and tender 
their hearty thanks for the entertainment, and their good wishes for 
jour success in your ride across the continent. Should you ever 
again visit our city, you can rest assured you will be most cordially 
received. 

Very truly yours, 

K. C. Stevens, 
Late Colonel U. S. Volunteers. 

The La Salle County Press noticed the lecturer in 
the following terms : 

" We have not often met with a more agreeable and pleasant gen- 
tleman than Captain Willard Glazier, who entertained a very re- 
spectable number of our citizens at Opera Hall on Saturday evening 
by delivering a lecture on * Echoes from the Revolution.' The cap- 
tain has a fine voice and his manner of delivery is decidedly 
interesting, while his language is eloquent and fascinating. His 
description of the battles of the Revolution, and the heroes who took 
part in them, from the engagement on the little green at Lexington 
down to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, was grand in- 
deed, and was received with frequent and enthusiastic applause. 
In conclusion he referred in an eloquent and touching manner to the 
'Boys in Blue' who took part in the late war for the Union, and 
all retired from, the hall feeling that the evening had been spent in 
an agreeable and profitable manner. 

"Captain Glazier served under Generals Kilpatrick and 
C)istcr during the late war, since which time he has devoted 



404 SWORD AND Pliy. 

much labor to writing, and is now making the attempt to cross 
the continent from Boston to San Francisco on horseback, for 
the purpose of collecting material for another work. lie left Bos- 
ton in the early part of May, and will endeavor to reach the Sacra- 
mento Valley before the fall of the deep snow. His horse, ' Paul 
Revere,' is a magnificent animal, black as a raven, with the excej)- 
tion of four white feet. He was bred in Kentucky, of Black Hawk 
stock, has turned a mile in 2.33, but owing to his inclination to run 
away on certain occasions, was not considered a safe horse for the 
track. The captain, however, has broke him to the saddle, and also 
convinced hira that running away is foolish business; consequently 
he and the captain have become fast friends, and with 'Paul' for 

lis only companion, the gallant cavalryman proposes to cross the 

"jntinent. Success attend him!" 

Having heard at La Salle that he would find no 
CifficLilty in securing a night's lodging at a village 
named Holiowayville, Captain Glazier pushed on for 
that point, but on applying at the only place of accom- 
modation for travellers, was looked upon suspiciously 
by the German host and \\\s frau, who politely inti- 
mated their belief that he was either a highwayman or 
a horse-thief! These latter gentry had for some time 
infested that section of Illinois, and Glazier inferred 
from the manner of the people that they more than 
half suspected him to be one of the James or Younger 
brothers, whose exploits they had probably read of. 

Turning his back on the " Grand Pacific Hotel," he 
at length succeeded by dint of much perseverance, in 
lodging himself and '* Paul" at a farm-house for tie 
night, but not before he had fully satisfied the worthy 
farmer and his wife that he had no evil designs in de- 
siring to spend the night with them. 

On the following day, September twenty-fifth, the 
captain rode through a rich farming country, rej)lete 
with "corn-fields, fine stock and oceans of fruit." 

Passed through Wyanet, Annawan, and across the 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 405 

prairie — smiling corn-fields and ripe orchards occasion- 
ally relieving the seemingly interminable ocean of 
grass — and arrived at Milan, Illinois, on the evening 
of the twenty-seventh, remaining for the night. 

Here he met a Mr. Pullman, an old and intel- 
ligent miner who had recently arrived from the Pa- 
cific coast, from whom he obtained valuable infor- 
mation concerning the country between Omaha and 
Sacramento. He also found a number of congenial 
spirits at Milan, chiefly New Yorkers, who had spent 
some years in the Far West, and their conversation 
partook of a practical nature bearing on his journey. 

Leaving Milan on the following day, he crossed the 
Government Bridge, which unites Rock Island with 
the fine city of Davenport, Iowa, and registered at the 
Bnrtis House — the rider and his horse continuing in 
the best of health. 

The lecture at Davenport was delivered at the usual 
hour at Moore's Hall to a very large and applaud- 
ing audience, General Sanders presenting him. The 
brass band of the place volunteered their services, 
and appeared in full uniform. The Davenport Gazette 
of October fourth said : 

" The lecture of Captain Willard Glazier at Moore's Hall last even- 
ing was attended by a large and appreciative audience. The cap- 
tain was introduced by our worthy fellow-citizen, General Sanders, 
who spoke of the lecturer's career as a soldier and an author, and 
said he was en route for the Pacific coast on horseback, and lectur- 
ing for the benefit of the Custer Monument Fund. . . ." 

The following notice is taken from the Democrat of 

the same city: 

" We had the y)leasure of meeting Captain Glazier this morning, 
■vrlio arrived liere on horseback from La Salle on Saturday evening. 



406 SWORD AND FEN. 

He is making the journey from Boston to San Francisco on horse- 
back, and alone, fur the purpose of seeing the country, studying the 
people, and gathering materials for a new work he is engaged n[K)n. 
C'ajttain (ilazier is well known to fame as a writer, having published 
several valuable works, among them a war-record entitled, 'Cap- 
ture, Prison-Pen and Escape.' 

"At the breaking out of tlie war, Willard Glazier, then a mere 
youth, entered the Harris Light Cavalry, under Colonel Judson 
Kilpatrick, and remained in the service until the close of the rebel- 
lion, his career being marked by many adventures and hair- 
breadth escapes. His feat of riding on horseback across the conti- 
nent, unattended, to gather materials for a book, is certainly with- 
out a precedent, and shows a brave and intrepid spirit. His horse 
* Paul ' was an object of great curiosity and interest." 

Leaviiiix Davenport, our traveller passed through 
Moscow and i^eached Iowa City October fifth. The 
weatliCr was now becoming very cold, and he found it 
necessary to dismount occasionally and walk some 
warmth into his limbs. 

Kegistering at the St. James Hotel, Iowa City, Cap- 
tain Glazier lectured in the evening to a very full 
house, a profusion of cheers greeting him on his arrival 
upon the platform, whither he was escorted by George 
B. Edmunds, Esq. 

Continuing his journey through Tiffin and Brook- 
lyn to Kellogg, all in the State of Iowa, he witnessed, 
he says, some of the finest landscapes and grandest 
farms he had yet encountered during his journey. He 
rode into Colfax, October twelfth, and Des Moines on 
the following day. 

^^ I have not seen a brighter or more stirring city in 
my line of march than Des Moines," writes Captain 
Glazier in his Journal. He wandered over the city in 
company with two or tliree of the leading citizens, ad- 
miring its numerous fine buildings and the evidencea 



' OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 40? 

of its rapid progress; aod the next day the Des Moines 
Leadei^ came out with the following notice of his visit : 

" Captain Willard Glazier, the horseback traveler across the con- 
tinent, took in the Exposition on Saturday evening with intense 
gratification. He says he has seen no place, on his route from 
Boston, mort! promising than Des -Moines. Among the calls he 
received at the Jones House was one from Captain Conrad, a promi- 
nent attorney from Missouri, and now settled in his profession in 
this city, who was a fellow-captive with Captain Glazier in Libby 
Prison during the rebellion. He continued his journey westward 
yesterday, with the best wishes of the friends he has made during 
his short stay here." 

Captain Glazier speaks very highly of the extremely 
courteous treatment he received while at Des Moines. 

Adel, and Dale City, and Minden were passed, and 
arriving at Neola, we find the following entry in the 
journal : " Weather most disagreeable. A drizzling 
rain made my ride to this place decidedly gloomy. 
My journey to-day, as usual, since entering Iowa, has 
been over the boundless, never-ending prairie. I have 
never in my life beheld a grander sight than this after- 
noon, when I reached the summit of an immense table- 
land between Avoca and Minden." 

Wishing to reach Anita before halting for the night, 
he ventured to continue on the road after dark, al- 
though for some time before sunset he had been unable 
to see a farm-house or even a tree as far as the eye 
could reach. Giving " Paul " the rein, he followed a 
blind road, after crossing a sluice-way, which ultimately 
led them to a haystack on the prairie, where the cap- 
tain decided to spend the night. A pack of prairie 
wolves, or coyotes, soon" came upon the scene, several 
of which he shot, but he was shortly after reinforced 
by a frien<lly dog, who came to his rescue and kept the 
coyotes at bay for the remainder of the night. In the 
30 



408 SWORD AND PEN. 

morning at daybreak he was glad enough to say adieu 
to the haystack where he had passed one of the most 
unpleasant nights of his journey. 

It may here be mentioned that the coyote partakes 
of the natures of the dog and the wolf, and is less dan- 
s^erous to encounter in the summer than in the winter, 
whicli is a oharaeteristio of it-, woiiisii nature. in 
th- winter, when food is scarce, these animals will 
attack man, but if a bold resistance is offered, they 
speedily decani}). 

Hastening forward on his journey through various 
small and more or less enterprising cities of the prairie, 
our traveler reached Council Bluifs at eight o'clock in 
the evening of October twentieth. This promising 
city is located three miles east from the Missouri 
River, and contains an enterprising population of 
some 20,000; its history dating from 1804. The 
locality is surrounded by high bluffs, and hence the 
name given to the city. 

Striking the Missouri opposite Omaha, our horse- 
man found he would be compelled to ride up the bank 
of the river and cross by ferry to the nortliern section 
of the city. On reaching the boat, '^Paul" declined 
to embark, but with some encouragement and assist- 
ance he was at length made to understand that when 
rivers cannot be bridged or forded, they can sometimes 
be ferried, and so yielded to necessity. 

Omaha is almost equidistant between the Atlantic 
and Pacific, and has sprung up, flourished and waxed 
great in the twinkling of an eye. It is now the grand 
gateway through which the western tide of travel and 
emigration is passing. The first house was erected 
here in 1853, and the population now numbers in the 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 409 

neighborhood of 30,000. Omaha can boast of as fine 
business blocks, hotels, school-buildings and churches 
as can be found in many older and more pretentious 
cities in the East. There are also numerous elegant 
private residences, with grounds beautifully orna- 
mented with trees and shrubbery, which sufficiently 
attest the solid prosperity of Omaha's business men. 

A story is told of the postmaster of Omaha which 
illustrates the changes made during the past few years. 
Mr. Jones, one of the first pioneers, was appointed to 
the office of postmaster in the autumn of 1854. At 
that time there was no office, while letters were rarities. 
The few letters that did come were kept by the post- 
master in the crown of his hat till he met their owners. 
Only a few years have elapsed since this primitive 
state of things, and the post-office of Omaha has ex- 
panded from a hat into a handsome stone building, 
worth $350,000, in which some twenty clerks find full 
employment. 

Hearing of the impossibility of riding his valuable 
horse across the Alkali Plains, he resolved to leave him 
at Omaha until his return from San Francisco, and to 
continue his journey on a mustang. In these plains 
the soil for two or three feet seems saturated with soda^ 
and so poisons the water that if drunk by man or 
beast, after a fall of rain, is sure to be fatal. ''Paul '* 
was therefore turned over by his master to the care of 
G. W. Homan, proprietor of the Omaha Livery 
Stable; and a good serviceable mustang purchased 
of a Pawnee Indian, to replace him. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

CAPTURED BY INDIANS. 

Optain Glazier as a horseman. — Cheyenne. — Two herders. — Cap- 
tured by Indians. — Torture and death of a herder. — Escape. — 
Ogden. — Letter to Major Hessler. — Kelton. — Terrace. — Wells. — 
Halleck. — Elko. — Palisade. — Argenta. — Battle Mountain.— Gol- 
conda. — Hiunboldt. — "The majesty of the law." — Lovelock's. — 
White Plains. — Desert. — Wadsworth. — Truckee. — Summit. — Sac. 
ramento.— Brighton.— Stockton.— San Francisco. 

HAVING made several friends in Omaha, and 
obtained all the information within his reach 
concerning the remaining half of the journey, Captain 
Glazier mounted liis mustang and proceeded on his 
route across the State of Nebraska. Over the great 
plains that lie between the Missouri River and the 
mountains, his nerve as a horseman was most thoroughly 
tested, and not less so, the mettle of his mustang, which 
carried him a distance of five hundred and twenty-two 
miles in six days. The approach of winter suggested 
the importance of reaching his destination at the ear- 
liest possible date ; therefore on riding into Cheyenne 
October twenty-eighth, he lost no time in arranging to 
continue his journey. 

The weather now became intensely cold, as he neared 
the highest point in his line of march. Since leaving 
Omaha, the ascent had been gradual but continuous, 
and the point now reached was eight thousand feet 
above the sea-level. 
(410) 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 411 

Cheyenne, the "Magic City of the Plains," about 
five hundred and twenty miles west of Omaha, stands 
at an elevation of six thousand feet above the level of 
the sea, and is perhaps the most progressive city west 
of Chicago. It is the capital of Wyoming Territory, 
the county-seat of Laramie County, and is the largest 
town between Omaha and Salt I^ake City. The gold 
discoveries in the Black Hills of Dakota added greatly 
to its prosperity. In proportion to its population, 
Cheyenne has more elegant and substantial business 
houses than most any other western city. This is a 
wonderful change from a place known the world over 
by its fearful sobriquet of " Hell on Wheels." 
Churches have risen where gamblers once reigned, and 
many other edifices for religious and educational pur- 
poses have been erected. Cheyenne is the trading post 
for the thousands of ranchemen and stock-raisers of the 
plains at the base of the Black Hills, and like all other 
frontier cities, has a history. It was once a very fast 
town, and it is not very slow now. 

On leaving Cheyenne he was accompanied by two 
herders, who were on their way to Salt Lake City with 
a few mustangs and ponies. It was the custom of 
Captain Glazier to have company in his rides through 
this wild region whenever he could do so, and hav- 
ing made the acquaintance of these men in the city, it 
was arranged that they should journey together as far 
as their respective routes led them. The men were 
of the usual stamp of herders, rough in exterior and 
plain of speech, but apparently worthy of trust. The 
captain was not wanting in discernment, and his cor- 
dial manner won their confidence. 

Sherman having afforded them a night's shelter and 



412 SWORD AND PEN. 

refreshment, their course lay in the direction of the 
Skull Rocks, a huge mass of granite on the Great 
Laramie Plains, and so called from the resemblance of 
the rocks to human skulls. 

The Skull Rocks being in front of them at no great 
distance, the conversation of the party turned upon 
their peculiar configuration, and opinions were ad- 
vanced by each of a more or less intelligent character; 
the herders insisting on the probability of their having 
plenty of gold in them. Suddenly, over a slight ele- 
vation in the land, appeared a body of Indians, in 
number about thirteen or fourteen. Glazier and his 
companions were not at first surprised, as Indians are 
often found on these plains — some friendly and some 
hostile — but mostly those of the friendly tribes. The 
Indians now advancing upon them were clearly not on 
a friendly errand, and were pronounced by the herders 
to be a detachment of the Arrapahoes. They were 
decked in their war-paint, and on seeing the white 
men immediately raised their war-shout, which, as 
travellers on the plains are aware, always indicates an 
intention to attack. 

The herders, knowing that they were in the presence 
of an enemy who would speedily relieve them of their 
merchandise, made conciliatory signs, by raising their 
hands, a signal which is equivalent to a flag of truce, 
and is so understood on the plains. The signal of 
truce was, however, ignored by the red-skins, who con- 
tmued to advance at a rapid pace, gradually forming a 
circle around Glazier and his companions. This is 
the usual Indian form of attack. The circle is kept 
constantly in rapid motion, the Indians concentrating 
their fire upon a stationary object in the centre of the 




kiiiiA' 



jiiitiiiSii^^ 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 41 3 

circle, while they render themselves a constantly shift- 
ing target, and are thus comparatively safe from the fire 
of the centre. 

Riding around, and firing at intervals of a minute 
or two at Glazier and his companions, the latter did 
their best to defend themselves, and fired in return 
upon their cowardly assailants, who showed no desire 
for a parley. The firing from the centre was made over 
the backs of the ponies and mustangs, who in such 
emergencies are made to do duty as a breastwork. The 
circle of red-skins gradually lessened in diameter, as 
the firing on both sides continued, when a shot from 
the carbine of the Mexican herder killed one of the 
Indians. 

The circle continued to grow less, until the Indians 
in a mass rushed on the three whites, disarmed them, 
secured them to each other with thongs at the wrists, 
and appropriated as their own the mustangs and ponies, 
which had been their primary object. 

Before yielding. Captain Glazier and his little squad 
had nearly exhausted their ammunition, and felt that 
further resistance was not only useless, but would cer- 
tainly cost them their lives. Without loss of time, 
the prisoners were compelled to mount, and the entire 
party— less one Indian killed — started off in a northerly 
direction. 

Ignorant of their destination, the herders expressed 
their belief that they would in a few days find them- 
selves in the presence of Sitting Bull, when their fate 
would be decided. They continued to ride at a full 
trot till about ten o'clock, when the whole party 
dismounted and camped for the night. A fire was 
gpeedily built, and some antelope beef partially 



414 SWORD AND PEN. 

roasted for their supper, of which the prisoners also 
partook. 

The supper over, an animated conversation ensued 
among the Indians, while sundry furtive glances were 
cast in the direction of the Mexican who had killed one 
of their party during the attack in the morning. For 
a time they shouted and violently gesticulated, while 
one of them was observed driving a thick pole into 
the ground, at about fifty yards from the fire, around 
which the party and the prisoners squatted. Presently, 
at a sign from one of the Indians, supposed to be a 
chief named ^' Dull-Knife," four of the red-skins seized 
the Mexican and forced him towards the stake, where 
they stripped him to the skin, and then bound him 
to it with thick cords. The whole party then, 
without further ceremony, proceeded to torture the 
wretched man to death, as a punishment for his pre- 
sumption in killing one of their party while defending 
himself from their murderous attack near the Skull 
Rocks. They heated their arrow-shafts in the fire, 
and held them in contact with his naked flesh, while 
others, at a distance of a few feet from their victim, 
cast at him their sharp-pointed knives, which, penetrat- 
ing the body, remained embedded in the flesh, until he 
nearly died from the agony. One of the party now ad- 
vanced with a revolver, and shot him in the head, thus 
ending his sufferings. 

While the torture was proceeding, Captain Glazier 
and the remaining herder lay on the ground bound 
together by thick cords, and could offer no assistance to 
their tortured companion. The INIexican being dead, 
one of the party removed his scalp and fastened it to 
his waist, after which all sat down around the fire and 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 415 

seemed in high glee for the remainder of the evening, 
for the most part shouting and speech-making. 

Willard Glazier had never before witnessed a case 
of torture by the Indians. It is true it was of a dif- 
ferent character from that he and many of his old com- 
rades had endured in Southern prisons ; but in one 
respect was more merciful, as the sufferings of their 
victim were soon ended, while his own and his com- 
rades extended over many months ; in the one case the 
body was burnt and lacerated — in the other it was 
starved and emaciated. 

The horses of the party having been tethered by 
long ropes to stakes, to enable them to graze during 
the night, a guard of two Indians was placed in charge 
of the prisoners, who, still bound together at the wrists, 
were made to lie down side by side, with an Indian on 
either hand. The remainder of the red-skins then dis- 
posed themselves around the fire for sleep. 

Glazier and his companion slept but little, but pre- 
tended to do so. They were continually on the alert, 
and the guard, believing their prisoners to be asleep, 
dozed, and at length reclined their bodies in a restless 
sleep. About two o'clock in the morning, the two 
Indians were relieved by two others, and all remained 
quiet in the camp. At the first streak of dawn, the 
whole body leaped to their feet and were ready to re- 
sume their march northward. Glazier and the herder 
were assigned each a mustang, which they quietly 
mounted under the close scrutiny of their guards, and 
the entire party started off at a brisk trot. 

No attempt at escape having yet been made by the 
captives, the surveillance became somewhat relaxed 
throughout the day, and the attention of the party was 



416 SWORD AND PEN. 

given to their own proper business of foraging. Wher- 
ever an opportunity offered, a momentary halt was 
called, and one of the party creeping cautiously up to 
a stray pony, would take possession by the simple pro- 
cess of mounting and riding him away. If more than 
one animal was to be appropriated, an equal number 
of Indians were detailed for the ''duty," and each leap- 
ing on the mustang or pony he had selected, would ride 
off as only these freebooters of the plains can ride, with 
little prospect of being overtaken by the owners. Thus 
the day passed ; as a rule, half the number of the Indians 
remaining as a guard to the prisoners, while the others 
foraged for food, and anything that could be conven- 
iently carried off. They were now skirting the Black 
Hills, and Glazier had discovered by this time that 
they were making their way to their general rendezvous, 
about one hundred miles from Deadwood. 

As the second night overtook the captives, the pro- 
cess of the previous night was repeated: they built 
their fire, cooked and eat their antelope steaks, and 
then prostrated themselves around the fire for the 
night. The captives were again bound together at the 
wrists, and lay between their two guards. Our friend 
was, hovvever, on the alert and wide awake, though pre- 
tending to be asleep. Quietly he passed the fingers of 
one hand over the cords that bound his other to his 
companion, and concluded that with patience and vigi- 
lance the knot could be unfastened. While the guards 
dozed and slept as on the preceding night, the eyes of 
the prisoners stealthily sought the ponies and the arms. 

The latter were always placed at the head of each 
sleeper, to be ready for immediate use in case of a sur- 
prise. Captain Glazier and his companion were fully 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 417 

convinced that any attempt to escape, if detected, would 
be followed by immediate torture and death; but were, 
nevertheless, resolved to make the effort. It was also 
known that if they quietly accompanied the Indians to 
their rendezvous or headquarters, they would be 
retained as hostages, probably for a long period, and be 
subject at any time to be tortured should a fit of ven- 
geance seize their captors. They would not, however, 
make an attempt to escape unless tliere appeared a 
moral certainty of its successful accomplishment. 

The third day arrived, and at dawn, after partaking 
of the usual breakfast of raw antelope or other game, 
they started again on their march. They rode all day, 
with the usual stoppages for forage, and about eight 
o'clock in the evening camped, supped, and lay down 
for the night, as before, after assigning the usual night- 
guards to the prisoners, who were again bound together. 
Glazier, with the experience he had obtained in the 
South, and his companion, with his intimate knowledge 
of the plains, kept themselves constantly on the alert, 
prepared to take advantage of any opportunity that of- 
fered to escape from their captors. They had each 
fixed his eye on a pony in the herd. These animals 
were turned out to graze with their saddles on, in order 
that they might be ready for instant use, if required, in 
the night. The prisoners began snoring loudly under 
pretence of being asleep, and at the same time the 
guards dozed and slept at intervals, but were restless 
until about midnight, when they both succumbed and 
were fast asleep. 

Glazier now worked at the cord on his wrist, and 
found he could unfasten it. While so doing, one of 
the Indians moved in his sleep, and immediately all 



418 SWORD AND PEN. 

was still as death with the captives. At length the 
time had arrived, the complicated knot was loosened, 
and the noose slipped over his hand, which at once 
gave him and his partner liberty of action. They 
knew where the arms lay, and each in the twinkling 
of an eye secnred a large navy revolver without dis- 
turbing the Indians. They then simultaneously struck 
the two sleeping guards a powerful blow on the head 
with the butt of their revolvers. The Indian struck by 
the herder was nearly killed by the heavy blow, while 
Glazier's man was only stunned. They then made for 
the ponies, leaped into the saddles, and before any of the 
other Indians had shaken off their heavy slumber, had 
struck out with all their might in the direction from 
wliicli they had come, and in the opposite one, therefore, 
to that in which the Indian party were proceeding. 

In a moment, however, the pursuit commenced in 
earnest; vociferations implying vengeance of the direst 
character if they did not halt, were flung through the 
darkness, which only had the effect of spurring the 
fugitives to still greater speed. Glazier turned in his 
saddle and sent a bullet among his pursuers in reply to 
their peremptory invitation to him to halt. Another 
and another followed, and one Indian was dismounted, 
but the darkness prevented his seeing if his other shots 
had told. The Indians meanwhile, who had plenty of 
ammunition, were not slow in returning the fire, but 
luckily without any worse result than to increase the 
pace of the flying ponies. 

Away they tore at the top of their speed, and soon 
entered a caiion in the mountain side. Only two or 
three of the Indians could now be seen in pursuit, and 
the herder, saying it would be better for both if they 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 419 

took different directions, at once struck off through a 
ravine to the right, and left Glazier alone. One In- 
dian was observed to follow, l>ut Glazier sent a 
bullet into the enemy's horse, and thus put a stop to 
further pursuit. The Indian now leveled his carbine at 
Glazier and dismounted him ; and the latter's ammuni- 
tion being exhausted, he ran off towards a gulch, and 
leaping in, remained hidden until daylight. Finding the 
coast clear in the morning, he emerged and at once set out 
walking in a southwesterly direction, which eventually 
brought him to a cattle-ranche, the owner of which sup- 
plied him with refreshment and a fresh mustang. 
Again turning his face to the west he pursued his way, 
covering the ground between himself and the Golden 
Gate at the rate of sixty miles per day, 

Ogden, in the northern extremity of Utah, alwut 
forty miles from Salt Lake City, and five hundred 
and eleven from Cheyenne, was reached November 
thirteenth, after hard riding and sundry stoppages at 
ranches in quest of hospitality and information. No 
event occurred more exciting than the shooting of a 
buffalo that crossed his path — this being the third, be- 
side sundry antelopes and several prairie wolves that 
had fallen to his revolver, in the course of his journey 
since leaving Omaha, On riding into Ogden, Captain 
Glazier was surprised to find it so important a city. 
It forms the western terminus of the Uin'on Pacific, 
and the eastern terminus of the Central Pacific, rail- 
roads, and is the second city in size and ix>pulation in 
the Territory of Utah. Besides the churches, a Mor- 
mon tabernacle was noticed, the population being largely 
of the p )lygaraic persuasion and yielding their alle- 
giance to the prophet of Salt Lake City. 
31 



420 SWORD AND PEN. 

One peculiarity of the towns in these western terri- 
tories is the running streams of water on each sifle of 
nearly every street, which are fed by some mountain 
stream and from which water is taken to irrigate the 
gardens and orchards adjoining the dwellings. Ogden 
has a bright future before it. It is not only the ter- 
minus of the two great trans-continental lines before 
mentioned, but is also the starting-point of the Utah 
Central and Utah Northern railroads. Vast quantities 
of iron ore can be obtained within five miles of the 
city, and in Ogden canon discoveries of silver have 
been made. Fruit-growing is very conimon in the 
vicinity, and a large quantity of the best varieties grown 
in the Territory are produced around Ogden. Utah 
apples, peaches and pears are finer in size, color and 
flavor than any grown in the Eastern or Middle States. 

November eighteenth. Captain Glazier heard from 
his advance agent, Mr. Walter Montgomery, then in 
Sacramento, who was in ignorance of the captain's ad- 
venture among the Indians after leaving Cheyenne, 
except that certain startling rumors had reached him 
of the captain having been killed by the Sioux. Mr. 
Montgomery had accordingly written to various points 
for information of the missing horseman; and to allay 
the fears of bis numerous well-wishers, who were in 
doubt as to his safety. Captain Glazier, after leaving 
Ogden, wrote the following summary of his adventure, 
addressed to his friend. Major E. M. Hessler, of Cleve- 
land, Ohio : 

Wild Cat Kanche, ^ 

In Cupper Gap Kavine, Nevada, V 
Novembei' ISth, 1876- ) 
Major E. M, Hessi.ek, 

Cleveland, Ohio. 

Dear Sir and Comrade: I leam through my advance agent, 
JMr. Montgomery, that a letter, manifesting some anxiety for my 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 421 

welfare, was recently addressed to you. I hasten to say that I ara 
again in the saddle, and although for three days tlie guest of tiie 
Arrapahoes, I am still in the best of spirits, and with even more 
hair than when I left Cleveland. I should be pleased co give 
you a detailed account of my adventures among the red^skins, but 
have only time to tell you that I started from Cheyenne, October 
twenty-eighth, accompanying two herders who were on their way 
to Salt Lake City with a small drove of mustangs and Indian 
ponies. We were attacked on the thirty-first of the saii.e month 
by a straggling band of Arrapahoes, near Skull Rocks, on the 
Laramie Plains. One Indian was killed, and my companions and 
myself were made prisoners after using up nearly ail our ammu- 
nition in the effort to repulse our assailants. Tlie herder whose fire 
killed the Indian was afterwards tied to a slake and most cruelly 
tortured to death. Bound to ray remaining conipanion with thongs 
we were on the following morning placed upon ponies and marched 
rapidly to the northward. 

Breaking away from our captors on the night of November sec- 
ond by killing two of our guards, we were followed some miles, 
firing and receiving the fire of the Indians as we galloped oflf on 
two of their ponies which we had appropriated. After being dis- 
mounted by a shot, and dismounting the Indian who had killed my 
horse, I finally eluded my pursuers by leaping into a gulch in the 
mountains, where I remained until daylight, when, finding no It - 
dians In sight, I pursued my way on foot in a southwesterly direc- 
tior which brought me to a cattle-ranche late in the afternoon. 
Here I secured a fresh mustang, and once more turned my face 
toward the setting sun. 

My money and personal eflTects were of course promptly taken 
possession of by the Arrapahoes. I am now moving westward 
at an average of over sixty miles per day, confidently expecting to 
reach San Francisco by the twenty-fourth instant. In our encounter 
on the Laramie Plains, five members of the '' Lo ! " family were 
sent to their Happy Hunting Ground, and in the matter of scalps 
you may score at least two for your humble servant. 

"With kind regards to friends in Cleveland, I close this letter 
to mount my horse, 

And remain, ever truly yours, 

WiLLARD Glazier. 

Captain Glazier's main object now was to push on 
to Sacramento as fast as his mustang would carry him. 



422 SWORD AND PEN. 

Kelton (Utah), at the northwest corner of Salt Lake, 
was accordingly readied soon after leaving Ogden, 
where he halted a few hours. This station is seven 
hundred and ninety miles from San Francisco, ^tock 
is extensively grazed in its vicinity, feeding on sage 
brush in the winter and such grass as they can get; 
but excellent grazing is found in the summer. The 
cattle are shipped to markets on the Pacific coast in 
large numbers. Terrace (Utah) was the next resting- 
place, seven hundred and fifty-seven miles from San 
Francisco, in the midst of a desert with all its dreary 
loneliness. Continuing his pace at an average of eight 
miles per hour — the temperature being very low at an 
elevation of nearly five thousand feet — Captain Glazier 
observed a few only of the salient features of the wild 
country he now passed through, his position on horse- 
back being less favorable for topographical study than 
that of the tourist comfortably seated in a palace-car. 

Wells (Nevada) was duly reached by the lonely 
rider, who found on inquiry that he was now only six 
hundred and sixty-one miles from his destination. This 
place stands at an elevation of five thousand six hun- 
dred and twenty-nine feet. Humboldt Wells, as they 
are designated, give celebrity to the place, which was a 
great watering-station in the days of the old emigrant 
travel. The emigrants always rejoiced when they had 
passed the perils of the Great American Desert and 
arrived at these springs, where there was always plenty 
of pure water and an abundance of grass for the weary 
animals. Hence it was a favorite camping-ground 
before the existence of the Pacific Railroad. The wells 
are very deep. A Government exploring party, under 
command of Lieutenant Cuppinger, visited the spot in 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK, 423 

1870, and took soundings to a depth of seventeen hun- 
dred feet without finding bottom. 

Hal leek (Nevada) was the next resting station, at an 
elevation of five thousand two hundred and thirty feet. 
It is named from Camp Halleck, about thirteen miles 
from the station, where two or three companies of 
United States troops are usually kept. The land 
around is mostly occupied as stock-ranges. 

Elko (Nevada), twenty-four miles nearer his desti- 
nation, supplied his wants in the way of rest and food 
for the night. This is the county-seat of Elko County, 
the northeastern county of the State. The town has a 
population of 1500, and is destined to become an im- 
portant city. The money paid for freights consigned 
to this place and the mining districts which are 
tributary to it, av^erages $1,000,000 per year. There 
are numerous retail stores, and a few wholesale estab- 
lishments, with a bank, brewery, hotels, and three 
large freight depots for the accommodation of the rail- 
road business. Indians, mostly the Shoshones, of both 
sexes, are frequently noticed about the town. 

The valley of the Humboldt continued to widen 
after leaving Elko — the pastures and meadow lands, 
with occasional houses, were soon passed, and the rider 
pushed on to Palisade (Nevada), his next halting- 
place, thirty miles from Elko, and five hundred and 
seventy-six from San Francisco. For the last two 
hundred miles the road had been a gradual descent, 
and the change of temperature was very sensible. 
Palisade is a growing little place, with a population 
of about four hundred souls. The town is located 
about half way down a canon, and the rocky, perpen- 
dicular walls give it a picturesque appearance. 



424 SWORD AND PEN. 

Forty-one miles farther west Captain Glazier stopped 
again for refreshment and rest at Argenta (Nevada), in 
the midst of alkali flats. The road continued for a few 
miles along the base of the Reese River Mountain, 
when suddenly a broad valley opened out — the valley 
of the Reese River. Turning to the right he found 
himself at Battle Mountain (Nevada), at the junction 
of the Reese River and Humboldt Valleys. The town 
of Battle Mountain has several extensive stores, a 
public hall, an excellent school-house and a first-class 
hotel, with a large and rapidly increasing trade. Battle 
Mountain, about three miles south of the town, is re- 
puted to have been the scene of a sanguinary conflict 
between a party of emigrants and a band of red-skins, 
who were defeated. 

Golconda (Nevada) was reached, and is four hun- 
dred and seventy-eight miles from San Francisco. It 
is a small place, with three or four stores, a hotel, and 
several houses. Gold Run mining district, a little 
distance to the south, is tributary to the place. Hav- 
ing rested for the night. Glazier mounted at sunrise 
and directed his course to Winnemucca (Nevada), the 
county-seat of Humboldt county, with a population of 
fifteen hundred, among whom are some Indians and 
not a few Chinamen. The town has an elegant brick 
court-house, together with several stores, hotels, shops, 
and a school-house. Winnemucca was the name of a 
chief of the Piute Indians, who was favorable to the 
whites at the time of the laying out of the city. 

Humboldt (Nevada) was reached in due time — an 
oasis in the desert. Here he was reminded that he was 
still in a land of cultivation and civilization. The first 
growing trees since leaving Ogden WTre seen here, with 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HOBSEBACK, 425 

plenty of green grass and flowing fountains of pure 
water. Humboldt House offered its hospitality to our 
traveler, and the place and its surix)undings reminded 
him of his home in the east. It was a great relief 
from the wearisome, dreary views whicli had every- 
where met his gaze over the largest [lart of his journey 
since leaving Omaha. Humboldt is the business centre 
of several valuable mining districts, and has a bright 
prospect in the future. 

The following incident is said to have occurred in 
one of the Nevada mining towns not many miles frojn 
Humboldt: 

Al)out the year 1852 or '53, on a still, hot summer 
afternoon, a certain man who shall be nameless, having 
tracked his tw^o donkeys and one horse a half mile and 
discovering that a man's track with spur marks fol- 
lowed them, came back to town and told " the bo^ >,'* 
who loitered about a popular saloon, that in his opin- 
ion some Mexican had stolen the animals. Such news 
as this demanded, naturally, drinks all around. 

" Do you know, gentlemen," said one who assumed 
leadership, '* that just naturally to shoot these greasers 
ain't the best w^ay? Give 'em a fair jury trial, and 
rope 'em up with all the majesty of the law. That's 
the cure." 

Such words of moderation were well received, and 
they drank again to " Here's hoping we may ketch that 
greaser ! " 

As they loafed back to the veranda, a Mexican 
walked over the hill-brow, jingling his spurs pleas- 
antly in accord with a whistled waltz. 

The advocate for the law said, in an undertone, 
"That's -the cuss r^ 



426 SWORD AND PEN. 

A rush, a struggle, and the Mexican, bound hand 
and f(X)t, lay on his back in the bar room. The miners 
turned out to a man. 

Happily, such cries as ^^ String him up!** ^^ Burn the 
dog-goned lubricator !** and other equally pleasant 
phrases fell unheeded upon his Spanish ear. A jury 
was quickly gathered in the street, and despite refusals 
to serve, the crowd hurried them in behind the bar. 

A brief statement of the case was made by the ad- 
vocate j)ro teni., and they showed the jury into a com- 
modious poker-room, where were seats grouped about 
neat green tables. The noise outside in the bar-room 
by-and-by died away into complete silence, but from 
afar down the caiion came confused sounds as of dis- 
orderly cheering. They came nearer, and again the 
light-hearted noise of human laughter mingled with 
clinking glasses around the bar. 

A low knock at the jury door, the lock burst in, and 
a dozen smiling fellows asked the verdict. The fore- 
man promptly answered, ^^ Not guilty." 

With volleys of oaths, and ominous laying of hands 
on pistol hilts, the "boys" slammed the door with — . 
"FowV/ have to do better thaii that!" 

In half an hour the advocate gently opened the door 
again. 

" Your opinion, gentlemen ?" 

"Guilty!" 

" Correct ! you can come out. We hung him an hour 
ago!" 

The jury took their drinks, and when, after a few 
minutes, the pleasant village returned to its former 
tranquility, it was ^^ allowed" at more than one saloon 
that " Mexicans '11 know enough to let white men's 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 427 

Stock alone after this.'' One and another exchanged 
the belief that this sort of thing was more sensible than 
" nipping 'em on sight " 

When, before sunset, the bar-keeper concluded to 
sweep some dnst out of his poker-room back-door, he 
felt a momentary surprise at finding the missing horse 
dozing under the shadow of an oak, and the two lost 
donkeys serenely masticating playing-cards, of which 
many bushels lay in a dirty pile. He was then re- 
minded that the animals had been there all day ! 

Lovelocks (Nevada) is three hundred and eighty- 
nine miles from San Francisco, and its elevation above 
the sea-level three thousand nine hundred and seventy- 
seven feet. It is sim})ly a station, with a few build- 
ings connected with the Central Pacific Railroad ; but 
)s a fine grazing region, and large herds of cattle are 
fattened here upon the rich native grasses. There is 
quite a settlement of farmers near Lovelocks. Before 
the railroad came the pasture lands were renowned 
among the emigrants, who recruited their stock after 
the wearisome journey across the plains. 

Leaving Lovelocks, Captain Glazier soon found him- 
self again on the barren desert. A side track of the 
railroad, named White Plains, gave him rest for the 
night. The spot is surrounded by a white alkali desert, 
covered in places with salt and alkali deposits. Hot 
Springs is another station in the midst of the desert, 
and is so named from the hot springs whose rising 
steam can be seen about half a mile from the station. 

Hastening forward he reached Desert (Nevada), 
which he found to be three hundred and thirty-five 
miles from San Francisco, and that the place is rightly 
named. The winds that sweep the barren plains here, 



428 SWORD AND PEN. 

heap the sand around the scattered sage brush till 
they resemble huge potato hills — a most dreary place. 

The captain found it quite a relief on reaching 
Wadsworth (Nevada), a town of about five hundred 
souls, and three hundred and twenty-eight miles from 
the end of his journey. It has several large stores, 
Chinamen's houses, and hotels, in one of the latter 
of which he found refreshment and a bed. His route 
had been for several days across dreary, monotonous 
plains, with nothing but black desolation around him. 
Another world now opened to his view — a world of 
beauty, grandeur and sublimity. Reluctantly leaving 
this agreeable place, he crossed the Truckee River, and 
gazed with delightful sensations upon the trees, the 
green meadows, comfortable farm-houses and well-tilled 
fields of the ranches, as he rode forward. 

He had now crossed the boundary line that divides 
Nevada from California, and Truckee was the first 
place he halted at. This is a flourishing little city of 
fifteen hundred inhabitants, one-third of whom are 
Chinese, and is two hundred and fifty-nine miles from 
San Francisco. A large number of good stores were 
seen here, and a considerable trade is carried on. 

He next reached Summit (California). From this 
point the road descends rapidly to the Valley of the 
Sacramento. 

Several intermediate places having been stopped at, 
in which our traveler obtained accommodation for a 
night, we hasten on with him to Sacramento, where, on 
November twenty -first, he found himself again sur- 
rounded with all the appliances of civilization. Sac- 
ramento has a population of twenty -five thousand. The 
broad streets are shaded by heavy foliage. It is a city 



OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 429 

of beautiful homes. Lovely cottages are surrounded 
by flowers, fruits and vines ; while some of the most 
elegant mansions in the State are in the midst of grassy 
lawns, or gardens filled with the rarest flowers. Here is 
the State capitol, a building that cost nearly $2,500,000 
for its erection. Sacramento is an important railroad 
centre, second only to San Francisco. 

Brighton was one hundred and thirty-four miles 
from the termination of his ride. At the farm -houses 
along the road numerous wind-mills were seen. These 
are used to fill reservoirs for household wants, and are 
common in all the valleys and plains of California. 

A halt was made at Stockton, twenty -one miles from 
destination. This city has a population of about fifteen 
thousand, and is only twenty-three feet above the level 
of the sea. It was named to commemorate Commodore 
Stockton's part in the conquest of California. 

Using all despatch. Captain Glazier pushed on to 
San Francisco, and entered the city November twenty- 
fourth, registering at the Palace Hotel. He imme- 
diately after rode, in company with Mr. Walter Mont- 
gomery, and a friend, to the Cliff* House, reaching it 
by the toll-road. This beautiful seaside resort is built 
on a prominence overlooking the ocean. Captain Gla- 
zier walked his horse into the waters of the Pacific, and 
then felt that he had accomplished his task. He had 
ridden in the saddle from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
Ocean — from Boston to San Francisco — a distance of 
four thousand one hundred and thirty-three miles, in 
just two hundred days. 

He was now no longer the slave of duty, and would 
rest for a few days and see the beautiful city before he 
returned to the east. He wandered about, mostly on 



430 SWORD AND PEN. 

foot, visited and inspected the numerous public build- 
ings, the City Park, Woodward's Gardens, etc., and be- 
came convinced from personal observation of the great- 
ness and magnificence of this city on the Pacific, with 
its three hundred thousand inhabitants, covering a 
territory of forty-two square miles, and the growth of 
less than thirty years. On its eastern front San Fran- 
cisco extends along the bay, whose name it bears, 
bounded on the north by the Golden Gate, and on the 
west washed by the Pacific Ocean along a beach five 
or six miles in extent. It is not, however, a part of 
our plan to describe this wonderful city, which has 
been done most effectively by others. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

RETURN FROM CALIFORNIA. 

Returns to the East by the " Iron Horse-"— Boston TransaHpt on 
the journey on horseback.— Resumes literary work.— " Peculiari- 
ties of American Cities."— Preface to book.— A domestic incident. 
—A worthy son.— Claims of parents.— Purchases the old Home- 
stead, and presents it to his father and mother.— Letter to his 
parents. — The end. 



w- 



"E now accompany our subject on his return 
journey to the east. His family and friends 
had naturally felt great concern for him during his 
long and perilous ride, and he was anxious therefore to 
allay their fears for his safety by presenting himself 
before them. He accordingly purchased a ticket and 
left San Francisco by rail on the twenty-eiglith of No- 
vember, and after a journey more rapid and comfort- 
able than the one he had made on horseback, arrived 
in New York city on December sixth. 

Several of the eastern papers, on hearing of the cap- 
tain's safe return, furnished their readers with inter- 
esting, and, more or less, correct accounts of the jour- 
ney. We can find room only for that of the Boston 
Transcript: 

" It will be remembered that on the ninth of May, 1876, Captain 
Willard Glazier, the author of ' Battles for the Union,' and other 
works of a military character, rode out of Boston with the intention 
of crossing the continent on horseback. His object in undertaking 
this long and tedious journey was to study at comparative leisure 
the line of country which he traversed, and the habits and condition 

(431) 



432 SWORD AND PEN 

of the people he came in contact with, the industrious and peaceful 
white, and the * noble' and belligerent re<l. According to the cap- 
tain's note-book, he had a closer opportunity of studying the charac- 
teristics of the terror than the toiler of the plains. 

"Accompanied by certain members of the 'Grand Army of the 
Republic,' on the morning of May ninth, as far as Brighton, he 
there took leave of them, and with one companion, rode as far as 
Albany, the captain lecturing by the way wherever inducement 
ofiered, and handing over the profits to the benefit of the Widows' 
and Orphans' Fund of the G. A. R. Many of these lectures were 
well attended, and the receipts large, as letters of thanks from the 
various * Posts ' testify, 

" From Albany Captain Glazier pursued his journey alone, and 
rode *he same horse through the States of New York, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, as far as 
Omaha. Thence he proceeded on whatever quadruped of the equine 
species he could obtain, which was capable of shaking the dust from 
its feet nimbly. That he was fortunate in this respect is proven by 
the fact that he rode from Omaha to San Francisco, a distance of 
nineteen hundred and eighty-eight miles in thirty days, making an 
average of alwut sixty-seven miles per diem. The distance from 
Omaha to Cheyenne, five hundred and twenty-two miles, he accom- 
plished in six days; the greatest distance accomplished in one day 
of fourteen hours was one hundred and sixty-six miles, three mus- 
tangs being called into requisition for the purpose. The entire time 
occupied by the journey was two hundred days, the captain reach- 
ing the Golden Gate on the twenty-fourth day of November. The 
actual number of days in the saddle was one hundred and forty- 
four, which gives an average of twenty-eight miles and seven-tenths 
per day. 

" During this strange journey of more than four thousand miles. 
Captain Glazier delivered one hundred and four lectures for the ob- 
ject before mentioned, and also for the benefit of the Custer Monu- 
ment Fund, and visited six hundred and forty-eight cities, villages 
and stations. He tested the merits of three hundred and thirty- 
three hotels, farm-houses and ranches, and made special visits to 
over one hundred public institutions and places of resort. He killed 
three buffaloes, eight antelopes, and twenty-two prairie wolves, thus 
enjoying to the full all the pleasurable excitement of hunting on 
the plains. 

" But on the thirty-first of October, while in the company of two 
herders, the tables were turned, and a band of hostile Arrapahoes 



''PECULIARITIES OF AMERICAN CITIES." 433 

suddenly disturbed tlie harmony of the occasion. After a lively 
encounter, in which one of the Indians was despatched to the 
Happy Hunting Grounds, Glazier and Ids companions were taken 
prisoners, and one of the herders was gradually tortured to death. 
All that now seemed to be required of the two survivors was patience 
— if they desired to share a similar fate. But in the early morning 
of the second of November, while their captors were asleep, they 
contrived not only to escape, but to secure the arms which had been 
taken from them ; and, mounted on two mustangs belonging to the 
Indians, soon placed a considerable distance between themselves 
and their too confident guards. In the chase which ensued. Cap- 
tain Glazier was separated from his fellow-fugitive, and made good 
his own escape by dismounting two of his pursuers, and eventually, 
after a lorg, hard gallop, dismounting and hiding in a gulch. Whai 
the fate of the herder was he had no means of discovering. 

" Though a man of usually robust constitution, Captain Glazier 
felt the transitions of climate acutely, but he experiences no ill 
effects from the long journey now that it is over. The ' iron horse* 
brought him back to the East of this continent in a few days, and 
there are probably few men in the States who have formed a higher 
opinion of the blessings of steam, than Capta,in Willard Glazier." 

Returned to Washington our soldier-author applied 
himself again to literature, his ever active brain having 
been sufficiently recruited by the comparative relaxa- 
tion it had enjoyed during the long ride. One of the 
fruits of his pen at this time was a volume entitled 
" Peculiarities of American Cities," a subject upon 
which his flowing j)en expatiates with great freedom 
and a nice discrimination. That the reader may per- 
ceive the bent of Glazier's mind at this period of his 
history, we here present the brief and succinct preface 
to that work : 

"It has occurred to the author very often/' he 

writes, "that a volume presenting the favorite resorts. 
32 



434 SWORD AND PEN. 

peculiar features, and distinguishing characteristics of 
the leading cities of America, would prove of interest 
to thousands of persons who could, at best, see them 
only in imagination ; and to others who, having visited 
them, would like to compare notes with one who has 
made their peculiarities a study for many years. 

"A residence in more than a hundred cities, includ- 
ing all that are introduced in this work, leads me to feel 
that I shall succeed in my purpose of giving the public 
a book without the necessity of marching in slow and 
solemn procession before my readers, a monumental 
array of time-honored statistics ; on the contrary it will 
be my aim in the following pages to talk of cities as I 
have found them in my walks from day to day, with 
but slight reference to their origin and history." 

We will bring this chapter to a close by recording 
one incident in the life of its hero, which, humble and 
common-place as it may be deemed by some, is one 
which, in the judgment of a majority of our readers we 
venture to think, reflects glory upon Willard Glazier 
as a son, and the nation may well feel proud that can 
rear many such sons. 

A subject of great domestic interest which had occu- 
pied his thoughts for a considerable period, but to 
which he had, in his busy life, been unable hitherto to 
give the necessary time and attention, at this time 
again forcibly presented itself to his mind. Glazier's 
sense of a son's duty to his parents was not of the 



FILIAL DUTY. 435 

ordinary type. He was profoundly conscious of the 
moral obligation that devolved upon him, to render 
the declining years of his parents as free from discom- 
fort and anxiety as it was within his power to do. 
They had nursed and trained him in infancy and boy- 
hood ; had set before him daily the example of an 
upright life, and had instilled in him a love of truth, 
honesty and every manly virtue. Their claim upon 
him, now that he had met with a measure of success 
in life, was not to be ignored, and to a good father and 
a good mother he would, so far as he was able, endeavor 
to prove himself a good son. 

The Old Homestead near the banks of the Oswe- 
gatchie, in St. Lawrence County, New York, where his 
parents still resided ; where all their children had been 
born, and where many happy years had been passed, 
was not the property of the Glazier family, and there 
was a possibility that the "dear old folks'' might in 
time have to remove from it. The thought of such a 
contingency was painful to Willard Glazier. It was 
the spot of all others around which his affections clung, 
and he resolved to make a strenuous endeavor to pos- 
sess himself of it, so that his father and mother might 
pass their remaining days under its shelter. 

He accordingly opened negotiations with the owners 
of the property for the purchase of the Homestead, 
and was soon rejoiced to find himself the sole pro- 
prietor of a place endeared to him by so many associa- 
tions. 



436 SWORD AND PEN. 

The following letter to his parents will form a fit- 
ting conclusion to this chapter : 

102 Waverly Place, ^ 

New York, May 1st, 1878. ) 
My Dear Father and Mother : 

I am just in receipt of the papers which place me in possession of 
the Old Homestead. This, I am sure, will be very pleasing news to 
you, since it is my intention to make it the home of your declining 
years: poor old grandmother, too, shall find it a welcome refuge 
while she lives. I have never felt that I could see the home of my 
birth pass to other hands ; my heart still clings to it, and its hallowed 
associations, with all the tenacity of former days. The first of May 
will, in future, have special charms for me, for from this day, 1878, 
dates my claim to that spot of earth which to me is dearer than all 
others. 

Imagination often takes me back to the Old House on the Hill, 
where your children spent many of the happiest hours of their child- 
hood and youth. In fancy I again visit the scenes of my boyhood 
— again chase the butterfly, and pick the dandelion with Elvira 
and Marjorie in the shade of the wide-spreading elms. 

* -X- ^* -X- * * ¥r 

I have been working for you, dear parents, in the face of great 
obstacles since the close of the war. If you think I have neglected 
you — have not been home in ten long years, then I reply, I did not 
wish to see you again until I could place you beyond the reach of 
want. One of the objects of my life is to-day accomplished : and now, 
with love to all, and the fervent hope that prosperity and happiness 
may wait upon you for many, many years to come, 
I remain, always, 

Your most aflTectionate son, 

WiLLAED. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 

An interval of literary work. — Conception of another expedition.— 
Keflections upon the Old Explorers.— Indian rumors.— Deter- 
mined to find the true source of the Great River. — Starting en 
the eventful journey. — Joined by his brother George and Barrett 
Channing Paine. — Collecting materials for the expedition. — 
Brainerd the first point of departure. — Through the Chippewa 
Country. — Seventy miles of government road. — Curiosity its own 
reward. — Arrival at Leech Lake. 

AN interval of three years, from 1878 to 1881, 
now elapsed in the career of Captain Glazier; 
years of retirement from public attention, but by no 
means of inactivity on his part. During this period 
he was engaged mainly in literary work, and in prep- 
aration for a forthcoming expedition w^hich his ever 
active and fertile brain had for some time been revolv- 
ing; and which, if successful, would furnish a most 
valuable contribution to the geographical knowledge of 
the world. 

The design of this expedition was no less than the 
discovery of the true source of the " Father of Waters," 
the historical Mississippi ; and a voyage from thence, 
in a canoe, to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. Cer- 
tainly a novel and daring project. 

The idea of such an adventurous undertaking had 
occurred to him while on his horseback journey across 
the continent; of which a brief outline has been given 
the reader in previous chapters. He had come to a point 

(4o7) 



438 SWOED AND PEN. 

in his onward progress which is noted for its beauty, 
being one of the most picturesque spots on the Missis- 
sippi ; the bridge spanning the river between Iowa and 
Illinois, where the rock-divided stream flows grandly by 
under the shadow of towering bluffs. His own words 
best describe the impression which the scene made 
upon his mindj and the consequent birth in his brain 
of the most notable achievement, thus far, of his life: — 

"While crossing the continent on horseback from 
ocean to ocean, in 1876, I came to a bridge which 
spans the Mississippi between Rock Island, Illinois, 
and Davenport, Iowa. As I saw the flood of this 
mighty stream rolling beneath, I turned in imagina- 
tion to its discovery in 1541. I saw the renowned 
DeSoto upon its banks and buried in its depths. I ac- 
companied Marquette from the mouth of the Wiscon- 
sin tc the mouth of the Arkansas; I followed Father 
Hennepin northward to St. Anthony's Falls, and saw 
the daring La Salle plant the banner of France on 
the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. 

" Musing thus upon the exploits of the heroic old 
exj)lorers who led the way to this grand and peerless 
river of North America, I felt that it was a subject of 
much regret that although its mouth was discovered by 
the Chevalier I^a Salle nearly two hundred years ago, 
there was still much uncertainty as to its true source. 
Within the last century several distinguished explorers 
liave attemj>ted to find the primal reservoir of the 
Great River. Beltrami, Nicollett, and Schoolcraft 
liave each in turn claimed the goal of their ex})lora- 
tions. Numerous lakes, ponds, and rivers have from 
time to time enjoyed the honor of standing at the head 
of the 'Father of Waters.' Schoolcraft, finally, iq 



THE 3IISSISSIPPI RIVER. 439 

1832, decided upon a lake, wliich he named Itasca, as 
the fountain-head, and succeeded in securing for it the 
recognition of geographers and map-niakej-s. 

" Notwitiistanding the fact, however, that tiie ciaim 
for geographical honors was very generally accorded 
to Schoolcraft's lake, as being the source of the Missis- 
sippi, I had frequently been told that many Indians 
denied tiiat their ideal river began its course in Lake 
Itasca, and asserted that there were other lakes and 
rivers above and beyond that lake, unknown to the 
white man, and that in them was to be found the 
original starting forth of the mysterious stream. These 
reflections led me to conclude that there was yet a rich 
field for exploration in the wilds of Minnesota.'' 

Thus it was that Captain Glazier determined upon a 
search for this great unknown of waters. The time, 
however, was not yet ripe for the fulfilment of his 
purpose. There was promised work to be done, duties 
to the public waiting to l)e fulfilled, various literary 
responsibilities accumulated from the past which must 
be met, the projected undertaking itself to be specially 
prepared for; — all this to be done before he could 
finally turn his face towards his new goal. 

The interv^ening period was therefore occupied in 
carefully revising his literary productions. Several of 
his books, written hastily at the close of the war, had 
been published in rapid succession in a somewhat in- 
complete form, and the constantly increasing demand 
for their subsequent editions brought a })ublic pressure 
to bear upon him for their needed revision which 
could not well be resisted. 

He had also other forthcoming works on his hands, 
which he was anxious should be put into published form 



440 SWORD AND PEN. 

before he again launched himself upon tlie sea of un- 
certain ventures. In order to collect material for a 
contemplated book upon the " Peculiarities of American 
Cities '' it was necessary that he should make an exten- 
sive traveling tour; consequently, a considerable portion 
of this time was spent in visiting the leading cities of 
the United States and Canada. Adding to all this the 
necessary preparatory labor attending his contemj)lated 
voyage in search of the true source of the Mississippi, 
and it will be seen that the years elapsing between his 
journey from ocean to ocean and his latest expedition 
were actively and well employed. 

At last, however, all his tasks were accomplished, 
and the month of May, 1881, found him stopping for 
a few days at Cleveland, Ohio, in his journey west- 
ward from New York. Leaving Cleveland on the 
first day of June, he proceeded to Chicago, and without 
further tarrying went from there directly to St. Paul, 
Minnesota, intending to make this his first point 
for gathering his forces and collecting the material 
needed for his coming exploration. Here he was 
joined by his brother George and Barrett Channing 
Paine, of Indianapolis, Indiana. The month of June 
was spent at St. Paul in collecting tents, blankets, 
guns, ammunition, fishing tackle and all the various 
paraphernalia necessary for a six weeks' sojourn in the 
wilderness. 

Finally all arrangements being completed, the party 
left St. Paul on the morning of July the fourth, to go 
to Brainerd, about a hundred miles above St. Paul, 
which was to be the point of immediate departure 
for Leech Lake, thence to Lake Itasca. Brief stoppages 
were made at Minneapolis, Monticello, St. Cloud and 



THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 441 

Little Falls on their way up the river, until Brainerd 
was reached July the seventh. 

Brainerd is an enterprising little village at the point 
where the Northern Pacific Railroad crosses the Missis- 
sippi, near the boundary of the Chippewa Indian 
Reservation, and is the nearest point, of any conse- 
quence, to Lake Itasca. Here Captain Glazier stopped 
for some days that he might further inform himself as 
to the topography of the country, in order to decide 
upon the most feasible route to his destination, and 
also to provide such supplies of food as were necessary. 
After consulting maps it was concluded that although 
Schoolcraft and others had found Itasca hy going up the 
river through Lakes ^yinnibegoshish, Cass and Bemidji, 
the most direct course would be by way of Leech Lake 
and the Kabekanka River. It was therefore decided 
to take wagon conveyance to Leech Lake over what is 
known in Northern Minnesota as the Government 
Road. This road stretches for seventy miles through 
trackless pine forests and almost impenetrable under- 
brush, the only habitations to be seen along its line 
being the half-way houses erected for the accommodation 
of teamsters, who are engaged in hauling government 
supplies, and the occasional w'igwams of wandering 
Indians. It was opened in 1856, by James Macaboy, 
for the convenience of Indian agents and the fur trade. 

At length, at eight o'clock on the bright, summer 
morning of Tuesday, July the twelfth, Captain Glazier 
and his companions, fully equipped, and with a driver 
celebrated for his knowledge of frontier life, began 
their long and toilsome wagon journey. A ride of be- 
tween three and four hours brought them to Gull Lake, 
where a halt was proposed and made for rest and 
lefresbmeDt. 



442 SWORD AND PEN. 

This lake was for many years the home and head- 
quarters of the noted Chippewa chief, Hole-in-the-day, 
and has been the scene of many sanguinary struggles 
between his braves and those of the equally noted 
8ioux chief, Little Crow. The ruins of a block-house, 
remains of wigwams, and a few scattered graves are all 
that is now left to tell the story of its aboriginal con- 
flicts. A family of four persons living in a log-house 
form the white population of the place. Reuben Gray, 
the genial patriarch who presides over this solitary 
household in the wilderness, delights in the title of 
landlord, and his hotel (by courtesy) has become some- 
what famous as one of the ])ioneer half-way houses 
between Brainerd and Leech Lake. 

After resting for a while and doing ample justice to 
the appetizing dinner which was set before them, our 
travelers resumed their journey. Pine River was their 
evening destination, and at five o'clock they reached 
the ranche of George Barclay, the only white habitation 
to be found between their last resting-place and Leech 
Lake. Here they were most agreeably surprised to find 
very good accommodations for both man and beast. 

An excellent breakfast the next morning, with the 
fair prosj)ect of reaching by evening the first terminal 
point of their journey, put the travelers in exuberant 
spirits for the day, and nothing but jolting over one 
of the roughest roads ever encountered by them could 
have lessened their enjoyment of the occasion. A 
short stop was made for luncheon at Fourteen jNIile 
liake, and this being their first meal in the open air 
they were enabled, together with the experience thus 
far gained in their journeying, to gauge more accurately 
their supply of rations. It was readily discovered 



THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 443 

that they would need at least a third more provisions 
j)er man for their expedition than would be required 
for the ordinary occupations of in-door life. It was 
at once decided to provide an additional supply of 
bacon and dried meats before leaving Leech Lake. 

After luncheon the Captain's brother and Mr. Paine 
took a bath in the lake, while he himself found amuse- 
ment in duck-shooting and in chatting with some 
straggling Chippewas, who were about launching their 
canoes for a six weeks' hunting and fishing excursion. 
It happened that Captain Glazier had never before 
seen birch bark canoes, and they were therefore re- 
garded by him with considerable interest, their use in 
the future being indispensable to the success of his 
undertaking. Xow the Captain possesses, in common 
with most men of adventurous spirit, a characteristic 
desire to get at the bottom facts of everything, and this 
curiosity here caused him a laughable mishap; for, the 
better to examine it, he stepped into one of the canoes, 
when, from want of experience in balancing himself in 
so light a vessel, he was precipitated into the lake, 
much to his own discomfort but greatly to the amuse- 
ment of the spectators. 

Firmly resolved upon more caution in the future, 
the Captain and his companions pursued their journey 
towards Leech Lake, which was reached at four o'clock 
in the afternoon. 



CHAPTER XXXyil. 

HOME OF THE CHIPPEVVAS. 

An embryonic red man. — A primitive hotel. — An unkempt inhab- 
itant of tlie forest. — Leech Lake. — Major Ruffe's arrival. — White 
Cloud. — Paul Beaulieu and his theory about the source of the 
Mississippi. — Che-no-wa-ge-sic. — Studying Indian manners and 
customs, — Dining with Indian royalty. — Chippewa hospitality. — 
How the wife of an Indian Chief entertains. — Souvenir of Flat 
Mouth. — Return of Che-no-wa-ge-sic, — A council held. — An In- 
dian speech. — "No White Man has yet seen the liead of the 
Father of Waters." — Voyage of exploration. — Launching the 
canoes. 

UPON the arrival of the travelers at Leech Lake 
their firstglimpseof the embryonic red man was 
a little fellow of about six years, who ran out of a 
wigwam, brandishing a bow in one hand, and carrying 
arrows in the other. He was very far from being 
warlike, however, for with the first glance at his white 
brothers he suddenly disappeared in the bushes. A 
little further on they came to a log-cabin, over the door 
of which was nailed a primitive pine board, bearing 
the inscription — ^' Hotel." 

Here they were received by a rougii-looking man 
with long hair and unkempt beard, wearing, besides 
one other garment, a j)air of pants made from a red 
blanket. The surroundings were certainly not invit- 
ing, and a closer inspection of the squalid accom- 
modations did not lead them to form any more favor- 
able opinion. However, travelers cannot always be 
(444) 



HOME OF THE CHIPPEWAS. 445 

choosers, and they really fared much better than they 
had expected, dining very agreeably on fresh fish and 
vegetables; breakfast the next morning being selected 
from the same simple bill of fare, elegantly varied by 
the addition of "flap-jacks/' In default of habitable 
beds their hammocks were swung from the rafters of 
the loft. 

Leech Lake is one of the most irregularly shaped 
bodies of water that can be imagined. It has no 
well-defined form, being neither long nor spherical, 
but rather a combination of curves and varied 
outlines made by peninsulas and bays, of which 
only a map could convey any accurate idea. Ten 
islands are found upon its surface, and seven rivers 
and creeks enter it from various directions. It ex- 
tends not less tlian twenty miles from North to South, 
and a still greater distance from East to West, with a 
coast line of over four hundred miles. It was for 
many years the seat of the Chippewa Indian Agency, 
but is now consolidated with the White Earth and 
Red Lake agencies. Major C. A. Ruffe is at present 
agent of the three departments, with headquarters at 
White Earth. The village consists of some half 
dozen government buildings, as many log-cabins, 
and about twenty or thirty wigwams scattered here 
and there along the shore of one of the arms of the 
lake. 

The day after the arrival of Captain Glazier's party, 
the agency was thrown into a state of excitement by 
the announcement that Major Ruffe was on his way to 
Lake Winnibegoshish by w^ay of Leech Lake. The 
Major came the next day, accompanied by Captain 
Taylor of St. Cloud, one of the pioneer surveyors of 



446 SWORD AND Pijy. 

Minnesota, Paul Beaulieu, the veteran government 
interpreter, and White Cloud, the present ehief of the 
Mississippi Indians, having suceeeded Hole-in-the- 
day, who had been killed some time before by one of 
the Leech Luke band. 

Paul Beaulieu, the half-breed interpreter to Major 
Ruffe, possesses a fund of information concerning the 
Upper Mississippi which cannot be ignored by those 
who are in pursuit of its niysterious source, and 
Captain Glazier considered himself most fortunate in 
meeting him before his departure for Lake Itasca. 
Beaulieu deserves more than a passing mention, as he 
is a man of wide experience, and is Avell known 
throughout JVIinnesota, and, in some cfrcles, through- 
out the country. He was born at Mackinaw, while 
General Sibley was stationed there in the interest of the 
American Fur Company, of which John Jacob Astor 
was then the head. His father was a Frenchman and 
his mother an Indian. He received a liberal educa- 
tion, partly in the government school of Mackinaw, 
and partly at Montreal. On leaving school he was 
employed by the Fur Company, and sent all over 
the United States from the St. Lawrence to Lower 
California. He crossed the continent with the 
Stevens party on the first Northern Pacific survey, 
and rendered such valuable services that he was 
presented with a testimonial in recognition of his 
efficiency. 

Beaulieu had a theory of liis own regarding the 
source of the Mississippi, based upon the stories of the 
Chippewas and other Indians of his acquaintance. In 
conversation with Captain Glazier upon the subject he 
said that to the west of Lake Itasca there was another 



H03IE OF THE CHIPPEWAS. 447 

lake, the outlet of which united with the stream from 
the former, and which contributed a much larger 
volume of water at its junction with the Mississippi 
than the outlet of Lake Itasca. He therefore as- 
sumed that this nameless and almost unknown lake 
was the true source of the Mississippi. 

In corroboration of the Beau lieu theory Major 
Ruffe said that he had lieard the same opinion ex- 
pressed by a number of old and reliable Indian 
voyagers. It will thus be seen that there was a 
great diversity of sentiment among the most trust- 
wortiiy authorities as to the actual source of the Great 
River. 

Captain Glazier was greatly exercised on finding 
that his arrival at Leech Lake was at a season when the 
local band of Indians, the Pillagers, as they are 
Killed, were away u})on their annual hunting and 
fishing excursion. Their absence from the agency 
was a serious obstacle in the way of immediate 
further progress, for the reason that, being compelled 
to take the final step in their expedition to the source 
of the Mississippi from this point, it was important 
that they should complete their equipment by secur- 
ing an interpreter, reliable guides and birch bark 
canoes. 

"Find Rev. Edwin Benedict as soon as you reach 
Leech Lake'^ was the last injunction Captain Glazier 
received on leaving Brainerd. Mr. Benedict is Post 
Missionary, and one of the five representatives of the 
Episcopal Church on the Chippewa Reservation, 
holding his commission from Bishop Whipple of 
Minnesota. With this genial gentleman, Captain Gla- 
zier spent the greater part of his time while waiting at 



448 SWORD ANT) PEN. 

the Agency, when not engaged in pre|)arations for the 
voyage. The courtesy of a semi-civilized bed, and 
the convenience of a table, with pens, ink and paper, 
were luxuries to be appreciated and not readily for- 
gotten. 

Conversations with Mr. Benedict and with Flat 
Mouth, chief of the Chippewas, developed the unex- 
pected fact that there was but one Indian in the Chip- 
pewa country who had actually traversed the region 
which the Captain and his party were about to explore, 
and that he was then visiting some friends near Lake 
Winnibegoshish, and was not expected to return until 
the following Saturday, some three days olf. 

Satisfied that Che-no-wa-ge-sic, the Chippewa brave 
referred to, would })rove indis[)ensable to the success 
of his expedition, Cai)tain Glazier decided to await his 
return to the Agency. While thus detained the Cap- 
tain and his friends found themselves indebted to 
I\Iajor Ruffe for his untiring efforts to relieve the 
monotony of their sojourn, and to render their condi- 
tion as agreeable as possible while within his sovereign 
borders. 

As an important part of Captain Glazier's purpose 
in his Mississippi expedition was to study the manners 
and customs of the people in the several portions of 
the country along its banks, he took advantage of his 
present detention to inquire into the habits and traits 
of the Indians with whom he now came in daily con- 
tact. Some extracts from his private diary, graplii- 
cally portraying the characteristics which impressed 
him, are here especially interesting, as evidence of a 
certain power of philosophic reflection and inductive 
reasoning unusual in the mind of one so given to the 



HOME OF THE CHIPPEWAS. 449 

excitement of an active, enterprising life as was Cap- 
tain Glazier, who as soldier, author, and explorer 
certainly allowed himself little rest for the quiet ab- 
stractions of the student. 

" Through conversations with Major Ruffe I learned 
much of the pioneer history of the post, and the at- 
tempts to civilize the Pillagers, as the Leech Lake 
Indians are named. This band appears to have sepa- 
rated from the other Chippewas at an early day, and to 
have taken upon themselves the duty of defending 
this portion of the Chippewa frontier. They 'passed 
armed before their brethren ' in their march westward. 
Their geographical position was one which required 
them to assume great responsibilities, and in the 
defence of their chosen frontier they have distinguished 
themselves as brave and active warriors. Many acts 
of intrepidity are related of them which would be 
recorded with admiration had white men been the 
actors. Perfectly versed in the arts of the forest 
they have gained many victories over that powerful 
assemblage of tribes known as the Sioux. With 
fewer numbers the Chippewas have never hesitated 
to fall upon their enemies, and have defeated and 
routed them with a valor and resolution which in any 
period of written warfare would have been stamped as 
heroic. 

" It is not easy on the part of the government to 
repress the feelings of hostility which have so long 
existed between the respective tribes, and to convince 
them that they have lived into an age when milder 
maxims furnish the basis of wise action 

"The domestic manners and habits of a people 
whose position is so adverse to improvement could 
32 



450 . SWORD AND PEN. 

hardly be expected to present anytliiug strikingly dif- 
ferent from other erratic bands of the Northwest 
There is indeed a remarkable conformity in the exter- 
nal habits of all our Northern Indians. The necessity 
of changing their camps often to procure game or fish 
the want of domestic animals, the general dependence 
on wild rice, and the custom of journeying in canoes 
lias produced a general uniformity of life, and it is 
emphatically a life of want and vicissitude. There is 
a perpetual change between action and inanity in the 
mind which is a striking peculiarity of the savage 
state, and there is such a general want of forecast that 
most of their misfortunes and hardships, in war and 
peace, come unexpectedly.'^ 

Our explorers were agreeably surprised -ooe day 
during their stay at Leech Lake by an invitation from 
Flat Mouth, the present ruler of the Pillagers, to take 
dinner with him. Captain Glazier accepted the invi- 
tation with pleasure, for it so happened that although 
he had for many years been much amon^ the natives 
of the forest he had never before had an opportunity 
to dine with Indian royalty. 

Flat Mouth is a descendant of Aish-ki-bug-e-koszh, 
the most famous of all the Chippewa ehiefs. He is 
stalwart in appearance and endowed with marked 
talents, and well deserves the title of " chief." At the 
appointed time for the dinner, Captain Glazier, ac- 
companied by his brother and Mr. Paine, went to his 
residence. They found him living in a comfortable 
log-house of two rooms, well floored and roofed, with 
two small glass windows. A plain board table stood 
in the centre of the front room, upon which the din- 
ner was served. Pine board benches were placed upon 



H03fE OF THE CHIPPEWAS. 451 

each side of the table and at the ends, and they fol- 
lowed the example of the host in sitting down. Five 
other persons were admitted to the meal, the wife of 
Flat Mouth, White Cloud, chief of the Mississippis, 
and three Chippewa sub-chiefs. The wife of Flat 
Mouth sat near him and poured out the tea, but ate or 
drank nothing herself. Tea-cups, spoons, plates, 
knives and forks, all of plain manufacture, were care- 
fully arranged, the number corresponding with the 
guests. A fine mess of bass and white fish cut up and 
very palatably broiled filled a dish in the centre of the 
table, from which the host helped his guests. Birch 
bark salt cellars containing pepper and salt mixed 
allowed each one to season his fish with both or 
neither. A dish of blue berries picked on the shore of 
the lake completed the repast. 

While they were eating, the room became filled with 
Indians, apparently the relatives and friends of Flat 
Mouth, and after the dinner was over, speech-making 
being in order. White Cloud arose, and, assuming an 
oratorical attitude, addressed Captain Glazier : 

He expressed regret that white men had so long 
been in ignorance of the source of the Mississippi, and 
said that although he had not himself seen the head 
of the Great River, there were many braves of his tribe 
who were familiar with its location. He hoped that his 
white brother had come thoroughly prepared to explore 
the country beyond Lake Itasca, and that he would 
not return to his friends until he had found the true 
source of the "Father of Waters.'^ Continuing he said : 
'^ I am told that Che-no-wa-ge-sic, the Chippev/a war- 
rior, will accompany you. He is a great hunter and 
a faithful guide. He can supply you with game and 



452 SWORD AND PEN. 

paddle your canoe. Tlie Chippewas are your friends, 
and will give you shelter in their wigwams/' 

After he had finished, Flat Mouth presented Captain 
Glazier with a beautifully beaded pipe and tobacco 
pouch, the work of his favorite wife, and expressed 
an earnest hope for the complete success of the expedi- 
tion. Although Captain Glazier needed nothing to 
keep the memory of this novel dinner fresh in his 
mind, he will always treasure this souvenir of Flat 
Mouth among the many pleasant mementos of his 
visit to Leech Lake. 

Here again, in referring to this dinner and those 
whom he met there. Captain Glazier's diary furnishes 
one of his vivid pen-pictures in an admirably con- 
ceived criticism upon the mental attributes and general 
character of the distinguished Indian chief, White 
Cloud, the orator of the feast. 

"I was much gratified on this occasion by the 
presence of White Cloud, ^vhom I had been told was 
the most respectable man in the Chippewa country ; 
and if the term were applied to his intellectual quali- 
ties and the power of drawing just conclusions from 
known premises, and the effects which these have had 
on his standing and influence with his own tribe, it is 
not misapplied. Shrewdness and quickness of percep- 
tion most of the chiefs possess, but there is more of 
the character of common sense and practical reflection 
in White Cloud's remarks than I have observed in 
most of the chiefs I have hitherto met. In his early 
life he was both a warrior and a counselor, and these 
distinctions he held, not from any hereditary right, 
but from the force of his own character. I found him 
quite ready to converse upon those topics which were 



HOME OF THE CHIPPEWAS. 453 

of most interest to him, and the sentiments he ex- 
pressed were such as would occur to a mind which 
had possessed itself of facts and was capable of reason- 
ing from them. His manners were grave and digni- 
fied, and his oratory such as to render him popular 
wherever heard." 

Upon the return of Chenowagesic and other In- 
dians, a council was held and Captain Glazier stated 
his object to them. They were asked to provide 
maps of the country and to furnish an interpreter, 
guides and canoes. Of course, it was impossible to 
conclude any such important negotiations as attended 
an expedition involving the veritable source of the 
noble red man's mystical stream without the charac- 
teristic Indian speech. Accordingly, Chenowagesic 
arose, and with much dignity, extending his arm to- 
wards Captain Glazier, said : 

"My brother, the country you are going to visit is 
my hunting ground. I have hunted there many years 
and planted corn on the shores of Lake Itasca. My 
father, now an old man, remembers the first white 
chief who came to look for the source of the Great 
River. But, my brother, no white man has yet seen 
the head of the ' Father of Waters.' I will myself 
furnish the maps you have requested, and will guide 
you onward. There are many lakes and rivers in the 
way, but the waters are favorable. I shall talk with 
my friends about the canoes, and see who will step 
forward to supply them. My own canoe shall be one 
of the number." 

But a few hours were required to complete the 
maps, and on the following morning, three Chippewas, 
including Chenowagesic, brought each a canoe and 
laid it down on the shore of the lake. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY. 

Launching the canoes. — Flat Mouth and White Cloud again. — An 
inspiring scene. — Farewell to Leech Lake. — Up the Kabekanka 
River. — Dinner at Lake Benedict. —Difficult navigation. — A peace- 
ful haven. — Supper and contentment. — Lake Garfield. — Prepara- 
tions for first portage. — Utter exhaustion. — Encampment for the 
night. — The cavalry column. — Lake George and Lake Paine. — 
The Naiwa River. — Six miles from Itasca. — Camping on the 
Mississippi watershed. — A startling discovery. — Rations giving 
out. — Ammunition gone. — Arrival at Lake Itasca. 

THE following day, July seventeenth, was Sunday, 
and Captain Glazier, being a guest of Rev. 
Edwin Benedict, felt a natural delicacy in inaugurating 
his voyage on the Sabbath. Mr. Benedict, however, 
greatly to his relief, not only decided that there could 
be nothing objectionable in his doing so, but also 
offered to launch his canoe and bid him God-speed. 
In fact, Mr. Benedict had done all in his power to 
alleviate the discomfort of his stay, by placing at his 
service the one extra civilized bed the village possessed, 
but now Bishop Whi})ple was hourly expected to ar- 
rive in the course of his regular visitations to the mis- 
sionary })osts he had established, and the Captain was 
not inclined to monopolize a comfort which doubt- 
less the Bishop would appreciate as much as himself 
Accordingly, early in the morning, which proved to be 
clear and beautiful, the explorers met on the shore of 
the lake, })reparatory to their embarkation. A large 
(454) 



EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY. 455 

number of Indians had assembled to see them off. 
Flat Mouth was there, watching his white brothers 
with interest as they stepped so cautiously into the 
canoes, for Captain Glazier had not forgotten his first 
experience with one of these light vessels. White 
Cloud, also, was there, chief of the Mississippis, think- 
ing, mayhap, somewhat sadly of the time when the 
great ^' Father of Waters " was known only to the Red 
Man who hunted on its banks, or glided swiftly down 
its stream, in happy ignorance of the days when city 
after city should line its shores, and steamboats force 
their arduous way through its waters. There, too, 
were the friends and relatives of Chenowagesic and 
the other guides, watching with characteristic gravity 
the final preparations. Rev. Mr. Benedict, the only 
white man on the beach other than the explorers, stood 
ready to launch the canoe. 

It was a scene well worthy the painter's most cun- 
ning skill — the beautiful lake, the wigwams dotting its 
shores here and there, the dark green of the forest in 
the background, the Indians with their bright red 
blankets adding bits of vivid coloring to the scene, 
and, at the water's edge. Captain Glazier, upright and 
soldierly in bearing, ready to step into his canoe and 
start forth in search of the mysterious springs which 
had hitherto baffled the curiosity of the keenest ex- 
plorers. 

Finally, all was ready, the baggage being evenly 
distributed in the three canoes with an Indian in 
each to guide and paddle it. Standing in the fore- 
most canoe Captain Glazier signified his readiness to 
start, when Mr. Benedict pushed the light bark into 
the water, and waved his hat in token of farewell. A 



456 SWORD AM) FEN. 

general waving of hats followed, and soon our ex- 
plorers found themselves gliding swiftly over the 
bosom of the lake, and almost out of sight of the 
friends who still watched them from the shore. 

After an hour's paddling they reached the other side 
of tlie arm of the lake on wliich the Agency is situated, 
and prepared for a short portage across a point of land 
which brought them to a larger arm, where the wind 
and the waves had a sweep of fifteen or twenty miles. 
Coasting along the shore for some distance they finally 
paddled across the lake to the mouth of the Kabekanka 
River. A brisk wind was blowing from the north, 
and the waves ran so high as to cause some anxiety in 
the minds of those who were not accustomed to the 
motion of a canoe; for, now they rose lightly to the 
top of the wave and anon sank with a swash into the 
trough, splashing and dashing the water over their 
bows. Gradually, however, as they became more used 
to their frail barks, their anxiety lessened, and they 
began to enjoy the beautiful prospect before them, and 
to inhale with delight the invigorating breeze. 

After two or three hours steady work they reached 
the inlet into which this branch of the Kabekanka 
empties. So choked up is this inlet with reeds and 
rushes that it required some skill to force an entrance 
for the canoes. Finally they succeeded, and paddling 
up the river they came, at about eleven o'clock, to a 
little lake caused by the widening of the stream, which 
Captain Glazier named Lake Benedict, in honor of Rev. 
Edwin Benedict, who had treated him so courteously 
during his stay at Leech Lake. Reaching the upper 
end of this lake they disembarked and prepared to 
enjoy their noon-day meal. 



EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY. 457 

A brief rest, in order tlie better to digest their hearty 
dinner, refreshed the travelers so much that they soon 
re-embarked and pursued their voyage. Leaving the 
lake they entered another branch of the Kabekanka, 
and found that at its inouth the stream ran between 
low shores, and that its bed was so overgrown with 
wild rice as to make it almost impossible for a 
canoe to work its way through. Further up the 
river narrowed and ran more swiftly, the wild rice 
giving place to snags and driftwood, which made 
navigation even more toilsome. Almost worn out, 
our weary voyagers began to despair of finding navi- 
gable waters, when to their great joy they espied 
at a little distance what seemed like a pond filled 
with rushes. Struggling onward once more they soon 
reached the spot, and found what they supposed to 
be a pond was the outlet of a beautiful lake about 
seven miles long and three broad, into whose quiet 
waters they glided with glad hearts and a shout of 
delight. 

It was now late in the afternoon, and time to look 
about for a camping-ground, on which to spend the 
night. Paddling slowly up the lake, trolling for fish 
as they went, they soon found a spot which answered 
their purpose admirably. It was a bluff near the lake, 
wooded with Norway pines, and sloping rather abruptly 
towards the water. By this time they had caught half 
a dozen fine pickerel, and, disembarking, they soon had 
their fire built, tents pitched and hammocks swung. 
The guides prepared the supper of broiled fish, accom- 
panied by such canned dainties as had been brought 
from civilization, and their keen appetites caused 
by the fresh breeze and toilsome paddling prepared 



458 SWORD AND PEN. 

them to enjoy with zest their first supper in the open 
air. 

Supper being over they whiled away the time very 
pleasantly by commenting upon the experiences of the 
day, and discussing the object of their undertaking, 
and so free were they from all discomfort, even of 
that caused by those torments, the mosquitoes, they 
felt ready to declare the hardships of their voyage had 
been much magnified. In this peaceful and contented 
frame of mind they retired to their tents and slept 
soundly until next morning. 

Kising at break of day they were soon on the water 
making their way to the head of the lake, where they 
breakfasted, and upon learning that no name had ever 
been given to this beautiful body of water. Captain 
Glazier designated it Lake Garfield, in honor of our 
martyred President. 

After breakfast they were informed by the guides 
that they had now come to the end of uninterrupted 
water communication, and must prepare for a portage 
of two and a half miles. Little did any of the white 
members of the party guess what this meant, and so 
with light hearts they packed their traps into con- 
venient bundles and prepared to take up the line of 
march. The Indians, in the meanwhile, had made for 
themselves packs weighing about a hundred pounds. 
These packs they wrapped in blankets and secured 
with a strap which passed over their foreheads, the 
packs resting on their shoulders. Each then placed a 
canoe, bottom upwards, on top of his pack, holding it 
there by means of a cross bar. 

All were now ready, and the order, " March," was 
given. Off started the Indians in single file with as 



EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY. 459 

much apparent ease as it' they were taking a pleasure 
walk along a w^ell-beaten path instead of plunging, 
heavily laden, into the recesses of a trackless forest. 
Captain Glazier, his brother and Mr. Paine followed 
tiieir lead, guided only by the white bottoms of the 
canoes gleaming through the dense foliage. It was 
almost impossible to keep up with the Indians, whose 
steady trot at times increased to a run, and in their 
efforts to do so they barked their shins, scratched their 
hands and faces, tore their clothes, and were almost de- 
voured by the mosquitoes. On they went, however, 
determined not to be beaten by the red man, who 
showed no sign of fatigue or stopping. Finally, in 
spite of their determination to the contrary, they felt 
absolutely compelled to cry "halt,^' when lo ! the In- 
dians halted, removed their packs, and, smiling back 
at them, no doubt in appreciation of their discomfort, 
calmly began to pick the blue berries which grew in 
abundance all along the route. With a sigh of relief, 
the rest of the party threw themselves full length upon 
the ground, utterly and completely exhausted, and 
fairly groaned aloud when they saw the Indians were 
about to resume their packs. There was no help for it, 
however, so starting up they prepared to follow, but at 
a somewhat slower pace. For several hours they con- 
tinued their fatiguing journey, until, at eleven o'clock, 
reaching a high, clear piece of ground, they decided to 
rest and have dinner. 

After dinner they found they were far too weary to 
proceed, so the Indians, who were apparently as fresh 
as when they first started, made two trips to the next 
lake, carrying everything. On their last trip they 
were accompanied by their exhausted white brethren, 



460 SWORD AND PEN. 

who succeeded at last in summoning up sufficient resolu- 
tion to curry themselves. 

Embarking once more in their canoes they pulled 
through three small lakes connected by creeks, finally 
camping for the night on the shore of a fourth lake. 
The next morning they were up bright and early and 
ready to resume their voyage, which for this day con- 
sisted of a chain of lakes sometimes connected by small 
creeks, but more frequently requiring them to make a 
portage from one to the other. Gabekanazeba, mean- 
ing "portage,^' is the Indian name applied to these 
lakes and the stream which connects some of them ; 
but Captain Glazier, assuming the right tacitly yielded 
to all explorers, called them in order after the brave 
cavalry commanders of the Rebellion. Bayard, Stone- 
man, Pleasanton, Custer, Kilpatrick, Gregg, Buford 
and Davies, form the column, with Sheridan, as the 
name of the largest and finest, at its head. 

Finally, they reached a lake of considerable size 
whose Indian name, translated, means Blue Snake. 
This they crossed at a point where its width is about 
five miles, catching a number of fine bass as they went, 
and camped for the night on a strip of land between it 
and a second lake about half its size. These two 
bodies of water were respectively denominated by 
Captain Glazier Lake George and Lake Paine, after 
his brother George and Mr. Barrett Channing Paine, 
who accompanied him throughout his entire voyage, 
sharing his dangers and rejoicing in his ultimate 
success. 

Upon resuming their journey next morning, July 
twentieth, the canoes were paddled across a corner of 
Lake Paine, and, after a portage of half a mile, they en- 



EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY. 461 

tered a small river, called by the Indians Naiwa. This 
river they descended for about five miles, and after mak- 
ing another short portage, reached a little stream, upon 
the shore of which they rested for dinner. Resuming 
their voyage they arrived at a beautiful lake late in 
the afternoon, upon which Captain Glazier bestowed 
the name of Elvira, in memory of his oldest sister. 

Here the Indians informed them that they were only 
six miles from Itasca, but the joy with which they re- 
ceived the good news was somewhat checked when they 
heard that the whole distance, with the exception of 
one small pond, must be made by portage. However, 
they had a night's rest before them, so taking the 
canoes out of the water, they were carried to the top 
of the nearest ridge of land, where the tents were 
pitched for the night. 

Their camp was now situated on one of a series of 
diluvial ridges which forms the highest ground between 
the Alleghany and Rocky Mountains. It is, in fact, 
the watershed separating the Mississippi, Red River of 
the North and St. Lawrence River systems, all these 
great streams having their origin in springs or lakes 
found within this section of Minnesota. 

While camping here a discovery was made which 
caused the party much uneasiness. This was no less 
a fact than that their supply of canned meats and 
other rations was fast giving out. To appreciate their 
situation under these circumstances we must remem- 
ber that they were far from any trading post, and in a 
country where they could not hope to find even an In- 
dian at that season of the year, the many lakes and 
marshy ground making hunting impracticable. To 
add to their dismay, it was also discovered that during 
34 



462 SWORD AND PEN. 

one of the exhausting portages the trolling hooks had 
been lost in passing through a bog, while their ammu- 
nition was reduced to sixty-five rounds. Too late did 
the Captain regret the permission given to his brother 
and Mr. Paine, both of whom were but amateur sports- 
men, to fire at any game they might see. They had 
blazed away recklessly during the entire voyage, so far 
succeeding in killing but one duck. Evidently they 
could not be depended upon to replenish the depleted 
larder. Something had to be done, and after resolu- 
tions of strict economy were proposed and unanimously 
adopted, it was decided that hereafter the Captain 
should occupy the bow of the first canoe, and, with 
gun cocked, be ready to fire at any game which a sudden 
turn in the river might discover. How the explorers 
wished they could subsist on the blue berries which 
were fully as abundant as the mosquitoes along the 
entire route ! But it required incessant eating of these 
to satisfy the appetite, and even then, hunger, in a short 
time, asserted its former sway. 

The morning following this discovery was so foggy 
that it wtis impossible to make a start before seven 
o'clock. The day was warm, and the journey un- 
usually fatiguing, consisting mainly of a portage 
twice the length of the first one they had en- 
countered. It was, therefore, with unfeigned delight 
that, late in the afternoon of the twenty-first of 
July, they discovered the placid waters of Itasca 
just ahead of them. Launching their canoes, they 
soon reached Schoolcraft's Island, after a pull of 
about two miles, and prepared to make this point 
their headquarters. 

Lake Itasca was discovered by Henry Rowe School-. 



EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY. 463 

craft in 1832, and was located by him as the source of 
the Mississippi. It is a beautiful body of water, with 
an extreme length of about five miles, and an average 
breadth of a mile and a half. It has three arms of 
nearly equal size, and the island, named after the dis- 
coverer of the lake, is situated near the point where 
they come together. This island proved to be about 
three acres in extent, and is so covered with under- 
brush that our gallant little party had much difficulty 
in clearing a sufficient space for their camp. Only one 
or two trees of any size were found, and on the largest 
of these, a pine, Mr. Paine carved their names and the 
date of their arrival. 

^y this time Captain Glazier had become more than 
ever convinced, through conversations with Chenowa- 
gesic, that he was right in his preconceived opinion 
that Itasca was not the source of the Mississippi. He 
was also satisfied that Chenowagesic was pre-emi- 
nently fitted to aid him in discovering the fountain 
head, owing to the fact that he was thoroughly at home 
in that region, having hunted and trapped there for 
many years. So intense had become the Captain's de- 
sire not to return until he had thoroughly explored 
Itasca and the surrounding country, that it was with 
an anxious heart he now put the question to his com- 
panions would they be willing, on such a limited sup- 
ply of rations as they had remaining, to assist him in 
his explorations, or would they vote for an immediate 
descent of the river ? To his great relief he found he 
had so completely inoculated them, or at least his 
brother and Mr. Paine, with his own ambition that 
with one voice they decided in favor of a thorough ex- 
ploration. The Indians were soon persuaded to give 



464 SWORD AND PEN. 

their consent, and so, before retiring for the night, the 
entire party expressed their determination to stand by 
the Captain until he was satisfied that every effort had 
been made to discover the remotest springs in which 
the Great River really had its origin. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI 

Short rations. — Empty haversacks and depleted cartridge-boxes.— 
Statement of Chenowagesic. — Captain Glazier's diary. — Vivid 
description. — Coasting Itasca. — Chenowagesic puzzled. — The bar- 

. rier overcome. — Victory ! the Infant Mississippi. — Enthusiastic 
desire to see the source. — The goal reached. — A beautiful 
lake. — The fountain head. — An American the first white man 
to stand by its side. — Schoolcraft.— How he came to miss the 
lake. — Appropriate ceremonies. — Captain Glazier's speech. — 
Naming the lake. — Chenowagesic. — Military honors. — "Three 
cheers for the explorer." 

CAPTAIN GLAZIER had iustructed his Indian 
guides to wake him early the following morn- 
ing, July twenty -second ; but when he himself awoke 
at six o'clock he found the remainder of the party still 
sound asleep, the toilsome portages of the preceding 
day having completely exhausted them. Rousing his 
companions, preparations were begun for breakfast, 
which consisted of a small piece of bacon and one 
" flap-jack '' each. But the determination of the 
previous night had so inspirited all that the small 
dimensions of the breakfast were scarcely noticed, and 
the conversation turned upon the absorbing topic — 
would they discover a source of the Mississippi other 
than Lake Itasca? 

Chenowagesic again repeated his statement that 
there was another lake to the south, which he called 
Pokegama, meaning, ^' a lake on the side of or beyond 

(465) 



466 SWOBV AND PEN. 

another lake.'^ This lake, he said, was smaller than 
Itasca, but contributed to the latter through its largest 
inflowing stream. Captain Glazier, therefore, instructed 
him to guide them to this lake and allow them to 
make their own observations regarding it. Accord- 
ingly, breakfast being over, the canoes were launched 
and the coasting of Itasca begun. 

Captain Glazier's own account of the events suc- 
ceeding this breakfast on Schoolcraft's Island is so 
clear, and his description brings so vivid a picture 
before the eye of the reader, that it is only necessary 
to quote the following passages from his diary for all 
to understand the importance of the discovery which 
he made. 

" Notwithstanding the fact that we were now con- 
fronted with empty haversacks and depleted cartridge 
boxes my companions were still eager to follow my 
lead in the work of exploration beyond Itasca, which 
from the beginning had been the controlling incentive 
of ^our expedition, the grand objective towards which 
we bent all our energies. To stand at the source ; to 
look upon the remotest rills and springs which contrib- 
ute to the birth of the Great River of North America ; 
to write * Finis ' in the volume opened by the re- 
nowned De Soto more than three hundred years ago, 
and in which Marquette, La Salle, Hennepin, Joliet, 
Beltrami, Nicollet and Schoolcraft have successively 
inscribed their names, was quite enough to revive the 
drooping spirits of the most depressed. 

"During our encampment on the island Cheno- 
wagesic again reminded me that he had planted corn 
here many years ago, and that his wigwam once stood 
upon the spot where we had pitched our tents. He 



SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI 467 

also repeated what he told me before launching the 
canoes at Leech Lake that the region about Lake 
Itasca was his hunting-ground, and that he was thor- 
oughly acquainted with all the rivers, lakes and ponds 
within an hundred miles. He further said that Paul 
Beaulieu was in error concerning the source of the 
Great River, and led me to conclude that the primal 
reservoir was above and beyond Itasca, and that this 
lake was simply an expansion of the Mississippi, as is 
Bemidji, Cass, Winnibegoshish and several others. 

" Fully convinced that the statements of Cheno- 
wagesic were entirely trustworthy, and knowing from 
past experience that he was perfectly reliable as a 
guide, we put our canoes into the water at eight o'clock, 
and at once began the work of coasting Itasca for its 
feeders. We found the outlets of six small streams, 
two having well-defined mouths, and four filtering 
into the lake through bogs. The upper end of the 
southwestern arm is heavily margined with rushes and 
swamp grass, and it w^as not without considerable dif- 
ficulty that we forced our way through this natural 
barrier into the larger of the two open streams which 
flow into this end of the lake. 

"Although perfectly familiar with the topography 
of the country, and entirely confident that he could 
lead us to the beautiful lake which he had so often 
described, Chenowagesic was for some moments greatly 
disturbed by the network of rushes in which we 
found ourselves temporarily entangled. Leaping 
from his canoe he pushed the rushes right and left 
with his paddle, and soon, to our great delight, threw 
up his hands and gave a characteristic Chippewa yell, 
thereby signifying that he had found the object of liis 



468 SWORD AND PEN. 

search. Returning, he seized the bow of my canoe 
with his hand and pulled it after him through the 
rushes out into the clear, glistening waters of the In- 
fant Mississippi, which at the point of entering Itasca 
is seven feet wide and one foot deej). 

*' Slow and sinuous progress of two hundred yards 
brought us to a blockade of logs and shallow water. 
Determined to float in my canoe upon the surface of 
the lake towards which we were paddling, I directed 
the guides to remove the obstruction, and continued to 
urge the canoes rapidly forward, although opposed by 
a strong and constantly increasing current. Some- 
times we found it necessary to lift the canoes over logs, 
and occasionally to remove diminutive sand-bars from 
the bed of the stream with our paddles. As we neared 
the head of this Alphan section of the mighty river, 
we could readily touch both shores with our hands at 
the same time, while the average depth of water in the 
channel did not exceed four inches. 

'' Every paddle-stroke seemed to increase the ardor 
with which we were carried forward. The desire to 
see the actual source of a river so celebrated as the 
Mississippi — a river wdiose mouth had been reached by 
La Salle nearly two centuries before — was perhaps pre- 
dominant. In their eagerness to get a first glimpse of 
the glittering nymph we had been pursuing, and greatly 
annoyed by the slow progress made in the canoes, my 
brother and Mr. Paine stepped ashore and proposed a 
race to the crest of the hill which Chenowagesic 
told them overhung the lake. To this flank move- 
ment on the part of ray com])anions I made objection, 
and insisted that all should see the goal of our voyage 
from the canoes. What had long been sought at last 



SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 469 

appeared suddenly. On pulling and pushing our way 
throujrh a network of rushes similar to the one en- 
countered on leaving Itasca, the cheering sight of a 
transparent body of water burst upon our view. It was 
a beautiful lake — the source of the ' Father of Waters.' 

'^A few moments later and our little flotilla of three 
canoes was put in motion, headed for a small promon- 
tory which we discerned at the opposite end of the 
lake. We paddled slowly across one of the purest and 
most tranquil sheets of water we had encountered in 
our voyage. Not a breath of air was stirring. We 
halted frequently to scan its shores, and to run our 
eyes along the verdure-covered hills which enclose its 
basin. These elevations are at a distance of from 
three to four miles, and are covered chiefly with white 
pines, intermingled with the cedar, spruce and tamarack. 
The beach is fringed with a mixed foliage of the ever- 
green species. At one point we observed pond lilies, 
and at another a small quantity of wild rice. 

^'As we neared the promontory towards which we 
were paddling, a deer was seen standing on the shore, 
and an eagle swept majestically over our heads with food 
for her young, which we soon discovered were securely 
lodged in the top of a tall pine. The water-fowl no- 
ticed upon the lake were apparently little disturbed by 
our presence, and seldom left the surface of the water. 

" This lake is about a mile and a half in its greatest 
diameter, and would be nearly an oval in form, but for 
a single promontory which extends its shores into the 
lake so as to give it in outline the appearance of a 
heart. Its feeders are three boggy streams, two of 
which enter on the right and left of the headland, and 
have their origin in springs at the foot of sand-hills. 



470 SWORD AND PEN. 

from two to three miles distant. The third is but a 
mile and a half in length, and is the outlet of a small 
lake situated in a marsh to the westward, which I 
named Alice, after my daughter. The three creeks 
were designated Elk, Excelsior and Eagle. 

" The latitude of the source of the Mississippi is 47° 
13' 25'^ Its height above the sea is an object of geo- 
graphical interest, which, in the absence of r.ctual survey, 
it may subserve the purposes of useful inquiry to esti- 
mate. From notes taken during the ascent it cannot 
be less than three feet above Lake Itasca. Adding 
the estimate of one thousand five hundred and seventy- 
five feet submitted by Schoolcraft in 1832 as the eleva- 
tion of that lake, the Mississippi may be said to origi- 
nate in an altitude of fifteen hundred and seventy- 
eight feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Its length, taking 
former data as the basis and computing through the 
western fork, may be placed at thirteen hundred and 
eighty-four miles. Assuming that the barometrical 
height of its source is sixteen hundred feet, it has a 
mean descent of over six inches per mile. 

" The highest latitude attained by the Mississippi is 
in Lake Bemidji, which cannot vary but a few minutes 
from forty-seven degrees. Its origin in the remote and 
unfrequented region of country between Leech Lake 
and Red River, not less than an entire degree of lati- 
tude south of Turtle Lake, which was for many years 
regarded as the source, throws both forks of the stream 
out of the usual route of the fur trade, and furnishes 
perhaps the best reason why its head has remained so 
long enveloped in obscurity.'' 

It will be readily seen from this vigorous descrip- 
tion of the new-found lake that the source of the 



SOURCE OF THE MISSTSSTPPL 47 1 

Mississippi is at last correctly located. Many others 
have attempted to find it: Schoolcraft was sent out by 
the Government especially for its discovery, but it re- 
mained for Captain Glazier to successfully accomplish 
an undertaking which had hitherto baffled the most 
determined explorers. This, too, he did entirely at 
his own expense, and with no other motive than such 
as an ardent search after truth inspires in ambitious 
minds. He had long doubted that Itasca was the 
source of our greatest river. He knew no other way 
of satisfying his doubt than by going himself to the 
remotest headwaters of the mighty stream. He there- 
fore went there, for with him to think is to determine, 
to determine is to act. Friends tried to persuade him 
he was engaging in a useless and extravagant expedi- 
tion, and those to whom he applied for information 
respecting the country through which he must pass 
warned him that he would have to undergo many 
hardships; but to all this advice he turned a deaf ear. 
His active, energetic, and enterprising temperament 
was proof against all fear of discomfort, and his desire 
to know the truth overruled every other feeling. And, 
when at last he stood by the beautiful lake, the goal of 
his search, all the trials and annoyances of his arduous 
voyage sank into insignificance — lost in the depths of 
his content. 

His companions gazed with delight upon the peace- 
ful scene which lay before them ; and, as they noted 
the peculiar outline of the lake, what wonder that the 
thought came — this was indeed the heart of the Mis- 
sissippi, pulsating with life for the great stream flowing 
onward and ever onward, enriching and ennobling the 
land, until at last it loses itself, by reason of its own 
vastness, in the waters of the Gulf. 



472 SWORD AND PEN. 

They rejoiced, too, tliat the first white man to stand 
at the fountain-head of America's greatest river was 
an American — an American who had fought bravely 
and suffered many privations for his country. And 
as they watched the eagle, whirling in his flight over 
their heads, they felt glad that he had chosen this spot 
for his home, in which to rear his young in the same 
proud, free spirit which made him so fit an emblem 
for their glorious land. 

Much astonishment was expressed by those of the 
party who were aware of Schoolcraft's expedition in 
1832, that he should have missed finding this lake so 
closely connected with Itasca, and various were the 
surmises as to the cause of this remarkable oversight. 
One plausible suggestion was, that the rushes and reeds 
had so obstructed the entrance of the stream into Itasca, 
that not having a previous knowledge of its where- 
abouts, there was nothing surprising in its being over- 
looked. By far the most probable theory, however, 
was advanced by Captain Glazier, who stated, quoting 
Schoolcraft himself as authority, that when he reached 
Itasca he was too much hurried to make a thorough 
exploration. He had made an engagement to meet 
some Indians in council at the mouth of the Crow- 
Wing River, fully seven days' journey from this point, 
and he did not have more than the seven days to do it 
in. Accordingly, as his mind had been prepared by 
his guides all along to accept Itasca as the true source, 
he only stopped long enough to see and hurriedly coast 
the lake, and then returned to the Indian council on 
Crow-Wing River. This is Schoolcraft's own state- 
ment, and there can be no doubt that it is the true rea- 
son for his failure to locate the source correctly. He 



SOURCE OF THE MISSFSSIPPI. 473 

never saw the beautiful lake to the south of Itasca, fed 
by the springs and streams of the marshes which gave 
birth to the Infant Mississippi. 

Ther(*f()re, he could not know that Itasca was but an 
expansion of the stream, like other lakes in its onward 
course, a sudden growth, as it were, which gave prom- 
ise of the vast proportions the mighty giant would 
hereafter assume. There would be something almost 
sad in his comino: so near and vet missinj]^ the mark at 
which he had aimed, if it were not that he lived and 
died in the belief that he was right in his assertion 
that the great Father of Waters rose in the lake 
which he, oddly enough, named Itasca. Oddly, be- 
cause Itasca is a name given by the Indians to the 
mysteries of their religion and necromantic arts, and 
Schoolcraft, by his decided statements in regard to the 
lake, succeeded in enveloping in mystery the true source 
for another fifty years. Why it should ever have been 
a mystery is a question often raised ; but there can be 
no doubt that it is owing to the fact that no fur traders 
and but few Indians ever penetrate the boggy, swampy, 
lake-covered regions of Northern Minnesota. 

Our explorers, having finished their survey of the 
lake, now disembarked and prepared to hold suitable 
improniptu ceremonies to celebrate their momentous 
discovery. First they drank of the clear, cool water 
to the health of Captain Glazier, who had led them on 
to making this grand achievement. The Captain then 
thanked them in a few eloquent and appropriate re- 
marks for their good wishes and also for their faith in 
him, and the determination they had shown to stand 
by him until he had reached the goal he sought. He 
spoke, too, of the magnitude and importance of their 
35 



474 SWORD AND PEN. 

discovery, of the knowledge it would add to the geo- 
graphical lore of the country, and of the strangeness of 
the fact that the source of their mightiest river had so 
long been a disputed question. The cause of this he 
attributed to the peculiarities of the region in which it 
rose, the many lakes and swamps making much trav- 
eling in) practicable; and recalling the hardships whi(;li 
they themselves had encountered, expressed his belief 
that it was not to be wondered at that earlier explorers 
had been deterred from making the venture at a time 
when civilization was even further remote than it was 
at present. He then recounted some of the exploits 
of the heroic old explorers, and, reminding his com- 
panions that three hundred years had passed away 
since white men first beheld tiie mighty stream by 
whose cradle they were now standing, he congratulated 
them on completing the work begun by De Soto, Mar- 
quette, La Salle, Hennepin and Joliet. 

Mr. Paine then proposed that the new-found body 
of water should be named Lake Glazier. This pro- 
posal was acceded to by acclamation, after which, to 
the surprise of all, Chenowagesic stepped to the front 
and signified his intentions by assuming an oratorical 
attitude. He then addressed the Captain as follows: 

"My brother, I have come with you through many 
lakes and rivers to the head of the Father of 
Waters. The shores of this lake are my hunting- 
ground. Here I have had my wigwam and planted 
corn for many years. When I again roam through 
these forests and look on this lake, source of the 
Great River, I will look on you." 

When he had finished Captain Glazier, true to his 
soldierly instincts, proposed firing six volleys over 









^f9 /^ 




SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 475 

the lake, one in honor of each member of the party. 
This was accordingly done, and ^Ir. Paine closed the 
ceremonies by leading off with three hearty American 
cheers for " the discoverer and the discovery." The 
Indians chimed in with a Chippewa yell, and then, 
while the air was still reverberating with the sound of 
their voices, they all paused to take in once more the 
scene of their explorations. 



CHAPTER XL. 

DOWN THE GREAT RIVER. 

Voyage from Source to Sea. — Three thou-and miles in an open 
canoe. — "Pioneers of the Mississippi." — A thrilling lectnre. — The 
long voyage begun. — Mosquitoes, — Hunger and exhaustion. — 
The Captain kills an otter. — Lakes Bemidji and Winnibegoshish. 
— An Indian missionary. — Wind-bound.— Chenowage.sic bids 
farewell to the Captain. — Pokegama Falls. — Grand Rapids. — 
Meeting the first steamboat. — Aitkin. — Great enthusiasm. — The 
new canoes. — Leaving Aitkin. — Arrival at Little Falls. — Escorted 
in triumph to the town. — "Captain Glazier! A speech! A 
speech!" — Lake Pepin. — An appalling storm. — St. Loui.s. — 
Southern hospitality. — New Orleans. — Arrival at the Gulf of 
Mexico. — End of voyage. 

HAVING decided to his entire satisfaction that 
the newly discovered lake was the true source 
of the Great River, Captain Glazier was ready to 
begin his descent of the stream, for, as yet, but a small 
portion of his tremendous undertaking had been ac- 
complished. True, he had done what had never been 
done before — he had penetrated into the innermost 
recesses of the mystery which had so long enshrouded 
the head-waters of the Mi.«sissippi, and traversed a 
part of the country where white man had never trod 
before; he had added greatly to the geographical 
knowledge of his country's mightiest river, and satis- 
fied the spirit of investigation whicli had impelled him 
to begin this daring adventure; but the by no means 
least novel, and at the same time, practical part of his 
voyage still lay before him. De Soto, Marquette, La 
(47G) 



DOWN THE GREAT RIVER. 477 

Salle, Hennepin, Joliet and Schoolcraft, all had navi- 
gated but portions of the great flood of water to which 
they owe their renown; he wonld descend its entire 
course from its source in the wilds of Minnesota to its 
outlet in the Gulf of Mexico. He would become 
familiar with the most striking features of the country 
on either side, an.l study tlirough personal inteiTOurse 
the varying phases of American cliaracter and life, as 
he passed from the fur-bearing, lumber-dealing States 
of tlie North, l>y the vast wlieat fields of the West and 
finally reach tlie cotton and sugar plantations ot the 
South No one had ever attempted this before, and it 
is probable no one will ever attempt it again, for the 
perils of a voyage of three thousand miles in an open 
canoe are not purely imaginary. And yet this was tlie 
only way in which he could satisfactorily and prac- 
tically accomplish his object of making careful and 
minute observations along the route. Then, too, being 
himself so much interested in all that concerned the 
great "Father of Waters," he wished to awaken in 
others a like interest, and to effect this prepared a 
lecture on the " Pioneers of the Mississippi, which he 
intended to deliver at every town of importance on 
either bank as he floated down the stream. Pay 
tribute to those to whom tribute is due' is us motto, 
and so the tragic fate of De Soto, the sad but poetic 
death of Marquette, and the triumphant banner ot 
La Salle, called forth from his ready pen a lecture re- 
plete with historical interest. 

Standing, then, by the source of the mighty river, 
around which so many beautiful Indian legends cluster, 
and about which the white man has ever been curious 
the Captain felt a natural throb of pride that so much 



478 SWORD AND PEN. 

of his great undertaking had been successfully achieved, 
and a hope that the future held further good in store 
for him. 

Giving the order for embarkation the canoes were 
soon gliding across the water bound for Lake Itasca. 
Entering this lake, a short stop was made at School- 
craft's Island in order to obtain the remainder of their 
luggage; after which they re-embarked, at three o'clock 
in the afternoon, and continued the descent of the 
river. 

From Lake Itasca the Mississippi flows almost di- 
rectly north, then takes a turn to the east, and finally 
sweeps with ever increasing volume south to the Gulf 
of Mexico. At first it quietly pursues its course between 
rich meadows, and promises easy and safe navigation, 
so that our little band of explorers after leaving Itasca 
expected to have a quiet and uneventful voyage until 
they reached the inhabited part of the country. Such 
was not the case, however, for they soon found their pro- 
gress very much impeded by drift-wood, snags, rapids, 
and boulders of every size and description. They over- 
came these obstacles in various ways, all requiring 
much exertion and endurance, and many a time their 
patience was nearly exliausted. Sometimes they forced 
the canoes under the logs which lay across the stream, 
and again cut a passage-way through them. Now they 
removed the drift from their i)ath and now were 
obliged to lift the canoes over it. A little further on 
a huge boulder would confront them, making it neces- 
sary to disembark and carry the boats around. Pres- 
ently a dangerous rapid would be met, and in shooting 
it some member of the party would be precipitated 
into the water, or perhaps a hole stove in one of the 



DOWN THE GREAT RIVER, 479 

canoes. At last they were obliged to make a portage 
of about half a mile, and upon launching again, soon 
discovered tiiat the principal obstructions had been 
overcome. This was a great relief to them, for the in- 
tolerable annoyance of swarms of mosquitoes which 
came in clouds about them, bitino- even through their 
clothing, was quite enough to bear j)atiently without 
having the hardships consequent upon such rugged 
voyaging to endure. 

Laborious, however, as they found this unusually 
rough canoeing, and troublesome as were the mosqui- 
toes, both trials sank into insignificance when com- 
pared with their ever present danger of starvation. 
It will be remembered how bravely all had decided, 
when they first made the startling discovery that their 
supplies were at a low ebb, to pursue their investigations 
even at the risk of running completely out of rations. 
The strictest economy had been observed ever since, 
but despite all their care they now found that unless 
they could reach a trading-post within a couple of days 
they would be compelled to subsist on such game and 
fish as they could cage; rather a precarious means of 
existence to say the least, especially as they had but a 
very few rounds of ammunition left. It was unani- 
mously voted that Captain Glazier, who was by far the 
best marksman of the party, should occupy the bow 
of the first canoe, and gun in hand be ready to fire at 
any game which he had a reasonable chance of hitting. 
One day while he was thus keeping a sharp lookout 
for anything which gave promise of a meal, Cheno- 
wagesic pointed excitedly to a small, black spot just 
showing above the water, and told the Captain it was 
an otter. The Captain fired, and to the gratification of 



480 SWORD AND PEN. 

all, the animal turned over on its back dead. That 
day they were unable to bag anything else, and when 
they encamped for the night the Indians prepared the 
otter for supper. At first the white members of the 
party refused to share the meal, but hunger was too 
much for them, and so, conquering their prejudices, they 
satisfied their appetites with the meat, which probably 
resembles cat meat more nearly than any otlier kind. 
The next day the Indians managed to kill several 
ducks by driving them under the water and then 
spearing them with their paddles; and the Captain's 
brother, having improvised a very ingenious trolling 
hook, succeeded in catching two fish. The main part 
of their diet, however, for four long days consisted 
simply of blue berries, and the Captain became so 
weak from hunger and exhaustion that he was barely 
able to sit uprigiit. At last they met an Indian, a few 
miles from Lake Bemidji, who supplied them with 
dried fish and other provisions, and that night they 
encamped on the shores of the lake. 

The next day they pursued their voyage under more 
favorable circumstances, the larder being tolerably well 
supplied, the river free from obstructions, and flowing 
between beautiful groves and rich meadows. Late in 
the afternoon they reached Cass Lake, where they 
pitched their tents for the night, and the following dav 
found them at Lake Winnibegoshish, the largest ex- 
pansion of the Mississippi. 

Their arrival at this lake was at a time when a 
strong south wind blew the waters into white-capped 
waves, which ran very high, and the canoes were nearly 
swamped before they could be forced into the little 
bay upon the shores of which the Indian village stands. 



DOWN THE GREAT RIVER. 481 

This village consists of about a dozen wigwams and 
log-houses, and presents nothing more inviting than a 
fiiTe view of this beautiful lake. An Indian missionary 
named Kit-chi-no-din is stationed here, and treated the 
party with marked courtesy and hospitality, although 
he could speak but very little English. During the 
two days in which they were wind-bound and obliged 
to remain inactive, the Captain took several meals with 
him, and once attended service in the little log-church 
of which he had been installed rector by Bishop 
^y hippie. 

During their enforced stay at Lake Winnibegoshish, 
Chenowagesic bade farewell to Captain Glazier and 
returned to his home at Leech Lake. Every effort was 
made by the Captain, who had found him invaluable 
as a guide, to persuade him to continue the voyage with 
them^; but his mind was so filled with the legends he 
had heard of the Lower Mississippi that no Induce- 
ment could prevail with him. The Indians of these 
northern regions very commonly believe that the eddies 
and whirlpools found in the river further down its 
course are mysterious monsters, and that the surround- 
ing country' is full of strange animals and fearful 

sights. 

On the third day of their stay at the vdlage, the 
wind moderated somewhat and they made an attempt 
to coast along part of the lake, hoping to reach the 
outlet in that way. But after struggling with the 
waves all the morning they came to a small inlet, and 
were forced by the again increasing wind to seek shel- 
ter In it. 

The next morning another start was made, and, alter 
some very rough paddling, the party at length arrived 



482 SWORD AND PEN. 

at the outlet of the lake, and from thence pursued (he^ 
even tenor of their way without any further interrup- 
tion until they reached Pokegama Falls, two miles and 
a half above Grand Rapids. Here they found a num- 
ber of white men, the first they had seen since leaving 
Leech Lake, encamped and engaged in building a 
small steamboat to run up to Lake Winnibegoshish. 
After a portage around the Falls they entered Grand 
Rapids, where they were rejoiced to find a post-office, 
a hotel called the Potter House, and a few other evi- 
dences of civilization, such as a comfortable bed, the 
first they had slept in for many days. 

After leaving Grand Rapids nothing of any impor- 
tance occurred until Aitkin was reached, four days 
later, unless we except meeting the first steamboat they 
had seen on the river. This was quite an exciting 
event, for the passengers on the boat knowing from the 
papers that Captain Glazier's party were on their way 
to Aitkin, recognized them, and testified their pleasure 
in the meeting by hurrahing, waving their handker- 
chiefs and hats, and calling after the explorers kind 
wishes for their safety and success. 

At Aitkin, the most northern town on the Missis- 
sippi, a brief rest was taken before the Captain em- 
barked on the second stage of his seaward voyage. He 
had now entered the bounds of civilization, and from 
this point the principal incidents of his expedition were 
such as would naturally occur in a country wheie the 
people delight to honor enterprise, courage, and ambi- 
tion. All along the route the greatest enthusiasm 
was evinced. When it was announced through the 
medium of the press at what time he would reach a 
given point, the inhabitants flocked to the landing- 



DOWN THE GREAT RIVER. 483 

place to do him honor; and many, more impatient than 
the rest, would put out in canoes and skiffs to meet 
him on the way. Upon disembarking he would he 
escorted to his hotel, usually preceded hy a band 
])laying ^' Hail to the Chief or other appropriate airs, 
and wherever he delivered his lecture large audiences 
greeted kim, curious to see and liear the man who had 
at last discovered the source of the Mississippi, and 
who had come so far on its mighty waters in a frail 
canoe. Everywhere he charmed all who met him by 
the courtesy of his manners, the eloquence and interest 
of his conversation, and the modesty with which he 
spoke of his great undertaking. Some, indeed, were 
disappointed by his lecture, having hoped to hear an 
account of his discoveries. But while Captain Glazier 
might with perfect propriety have spoken of his own 
exploits after recounting in glowing terms those of 
the old explorers, he is too thoroughly great in spirit to 
say aught which might in the least seem to detract 
from the achievements of his heroic predecessors. 
Therefore, as his subject was the *' Pioneers of the 
Mississippi," he spoke only of their exploits, giving 
them in eloquent words their just tribute of praise, 
and leaving it to others to say that what they had 
only begun he had triumphantly finished. 

Upon leaving Aitkin on the fifteenth of August the 
birch bark canoes, with the exception of the one used 
by the Captain himself, were abandoned, their places 
being taken by a Rushton canoe, named "Alice,'^ after 
his daughter; and a Racine canoe of the Rob 
Roy pattern. Their departure from this thriving 
little city was the signal for an enthusiastic demonstra- 
tion on the part of its inhabitants, who congregated on 



484 SWORD AND PEN. 

the shore to vSee them off. Captain Glazier acknowl- 
edged the compliment in a short speech, and then, 
stepping into his canoe, the little flotilla paddled away 
amidst the cheers of the multitude. 

From this point the descent of the river was com- 
paratively easy. Except whc^n rainy weather or violent 
winds prevailed, the voyagers found much to enjoy in 
the novel life they were leading, the varying scenery 
they met, and the altogether different phase which the 
Mississippi, the great highway of internal commerce in 
North America, presented to them. 

At Brainerd the Captain delivered his lecture for 
the first time, to a crowded and appreciative audience. 
From Brainerd the party dropped down the river to 
the antiquated town of Crow-Wing, opposite the mouth 
of the Crow-Wing River. Remaining here over night 
they re-embarked next morning, and gliding down the 
stream arrived at about three o'clock in the afternoon 
at a point just above Little Falls. Here they were 
met by a number of row-boats and escorted to the town. 
As the little fleet approached the land the shores were 
seen to be crowded with people, and the band struck 
up, rendering "A Life on the Ocean Wave," ''See the 
Conquering Hero comes,'' and other appropriate airs. 
As soon as a landing was effected, cries of "Captain 
Glazier ! Captain Glazier ! a speech ! a speech ! '^ went 
up, and in response to the demand the Captain made 
a few remarks. First, thanking them for the kind in- 
terest manifested in his voyage, he continued : ''I find a 
great deal of speculation as I go down the river in regard 
to the ol-jects of this expedition, and it may be well to 
state what they really are. My desire is to study thor- 
oughly the people, industries, and general features of the 



DOWN THE GREAT RIVER. 455 

grandest valley in the world — a valley which extends 
from the great watershed almost 011 the northern boun- 
dary of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico, a dis- 
tance of three thousand miles, and wliere the occupa- 
tions of the people change from the lumbering and 
fur-hunting of the north to the cotton and sugar-raising 
of the south. To do this carefully and at leisure I 
take a method of traveling by which I can devote as 
much time as is necessary to every section of the river, 
and by which I can observe from a standpoint not 
reached by the ordinary traveler. This, ladies and 
gentlemen, is why you see me to-day descending the 
Mississippi in a canoe." 

The Captain was then escorted to his hotel by the 
band, and in the evening delivered his lecture at Vasaly 
Hall, continuing his voyage the following day. Be- 
tween this point and Minneapolis numerous and danger- 
ous rapids were met, all of which were shot in safety, 
and the Falls of St. Anthony were reached without ac- 
cident. Below these Falls the scenery was very beau- 
tiful, although the immense number of rain storms 
interfered sadly with the pleasure of sight-seeing. 

When the party arrived at Lake Pepin, a beautiful 
body of water, thirty miles in length and three in 
breadth, and surrounded by majestic bluffs, they found 
navigation almost impossible. The winds sweeping 
down between the bluffs caused the waves to rise so 
high that even the river steamers had been compelled 
to tie up and wait for the storm to subside. The Cap- 
tain, however, had an engagement to lecture at Lake 
City, half way down the lake, and as he had never yet 
failed to appear at the appointed time he now insisted 
upon attempting to reach his destination. The river 
36 



486 SWORD AND PEN. 

men in vain endeavored to dissuade him from liis 
purpose. It took all day to make a j^ull of sixteoti 
miles, and many a time it seemed as if the frail canoos 
would certainly be swamped; but nevertheless they ar- 
rived at Lake City in time for the lecture. And it 
may be mentioned here that in this voyage, as in his 
journey from ocean to ocean, he never failed to 
keep an engagement to lecture. No matter what the 
stress of weather or unforeseen accident which would 
have delayed most men, he surmounted every obstacle 
and invariably appeared on the phitform at the ap- 
pointed hour. • 

Bad weather, violent squalls, and dangerous rapids 
were of frequent occurrence, but nothing succeeded in 
crippling the energy which Captain Glazier had all 
along exhibited. His mind was bent upon reaching the 
Gulf in his canoe, and he pursued his course unmindful 
of the dangers which he almost daily encountered. At 
La Crosse the expedition was reduced in number to the 
Captain and Mr. Paine, who, for the remainder of the 
voyage, used the "Alice.'' 

St. Louis was reached on the eighth of October, and 
the voyagers were heartily welcomed by the various 
boat-clubs of the city and by many influential citizens. 
On October the tenth, they re-embarked and continued 
their voyage towards the Gulf. 

From here Cairo, Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, 
and Baton Rouge were the chief halting-places, al- 
though many a time night overtook them before they 
could reach a town or city, and then they would be 
entertained at some plantation near the shore with true 
southern hospitality. Everywhere they were received 
with the utmost cordiality. The various cities along 



DOWN THE GREAT RIVER. 437 

the banks of the river seemed to vie with eaeh other 
in doing honor to Captain Glazier; the press spoke in 
the highest terms of his expedition and of his great 
success, and every opportunity was afforded him to 
make the most minute observations respecting the cus- 
toms, manner of life, business enterprise, and political 
condition of the })eople of the different States. These 
observations he means to embody in a work to be en- 
titled "Down the Great River" — a work which, in 
the light of the Captain's well-known ability as a 
writer, cannot fail to be both interesting and instruc- 
tive. 

New Orleans was reached at last, but as the Captain 
intended to return there after visiting Port Eads, no 
stop was made, and the "Alice" paddled by the Cres- 
cent City, arriving at the Jetties on the fifteenth of 
November, one hundred and seventeen days after be- 
ginning the descent of the river from its new found 
source, Lake Glazier. 

Many citizens of Port Eads had assembled in small 
boats at the entrance to the Gulf to see the "Alice" 
and her gallant crew in the act of completing their 
long voyage. Clieer upon cheer rent the air as the 
beautiful little canoe, bearing aloft at the bow a pen- 
nant with the inscription "Alice," an«] at the stern the 
glorious "Stars and Stripes," paddled from the mouth 
of the river out into the wide expanse of the Gulf Fire- 
arms were discharged, flags enthusiastically waved, and 
every possible demonstration made which could give 
vent to the excitement of the occasion. 

Reaching the beacon, the Captain and Mr. Paine 
disembarked, and, clambering up upon the wall, gazed 
out on the salt waters of the Gulf, hardly able to realize 



488 SWOED AND PEN. 

that this was actually the goal towards which they had 
been slowly paddling for almost four months. 

Thus ended the longest canoe vovageon record. De 
Soto, Marquette, La Salle, Hennepin, Joliet, and 
Schoolcraft, had all navigated sections of the Missis- 
sippi, but Captain Glazier was the first to traverse its 
entire course, from the remotest headwaters to the 
outlet, a distance of three thousand one hundreil and 
eighty-four miles. This, too, he had done in a frail 
canoe, amidst heavy rains and violent winds, in heat 
and cold, in sunshine and in storm, steadily pursuing 
his course, unfaltering in his purpose, deterred by no 
danger, determined only on success. In the wilds of 
Minnesota he stood by the beautiful little lake whose 
placid bosom first nourishes the infant stream. Pad- 
dling onward with the current, ever increasing in 
strength and volume, he passed from the dense forests 
of the North where nature holds undisputed sway, into 
the realms of a civilization growing daily greater and 
greater. Finally he reached the broad Gulf, in which 
the *' Father of Waters," now strong in the strength 
of maturity, and vast in his proportions, pours his 
mighty flood. Every variety of climate, soil and 
production came under his observation, and all the 
striking peculiarities of the Northern, Western and 
Southern character. No other man had ever accom- 
j)lished this, and therefore it is not difficult to imagine 
that Captain Glazier's emotions, when he first saw the 
salt spray of the Gulf dash high over the seaward wall 
of the Jetties, were of an elevated order, and lifted 
ln*m for the time above the plane of every-day life. 
His long voyage was completed, the objective at which 
he had aimed was reached, and his plans had all been 



DOWN THE GREAT RIVER. 489 

attended with success. Of little consequence now 
were the dangers he had encountered, the annoyances 
Avhich had beset him, the difficulties he had sur- 
mounted. He was proud of the fact that he was the 
first to stand at the fountain-head of his country^s 
grandest river, and was the first to traverse its entire 
course despite the turbulent waters and dangerous whirl- 
pools which threatened often to engulf him, and now at its 
outlet could write " finis '^ to the great work of iiis life. 
Few men in the world can say as much — for the energy, 
perseverance, unfaltering will and indomitable courage 
which characterize Cai)tain Glazier are of rare occur- 
rence, and entitle him to a foremost position m the 
ranks of America's distinguished sons. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

RECEPTION BY THE ^E\V ORLEANS ACADEMY OP 
SCIENCES. 

Captain Glazier returns to New Orleans. — A general ovation. — Flat- 
tering opinions of the press. — Introduction lo the Mayor. — Free- 
dom of the City tendered. — Special meeting of the New Or- 
leans Academy of Sciences. — Presentation of the "Alice" to 
the Academy. — Captain Glazier's address. — The President's Re- 
sponse. — Resolutions of thanks and appreciation passed. — Visit 
to the Arsenal of the Washington Artillery. — Welcome by the 
Old Guard of the Louisiana Tigers. — Pleasant memories of the 
*' Crescent City." 

AFTER standing for some time looking out upon 
the vast expanse of water which lay before him, 
Captain Glazier hailed a passing boat and, towing the 
"Alice" after them, he and Mr. Paine were rowed back 
to Port Eads. Here they were very hospitably enter- 
tained until the arrival of the inward-bound steamship 
" Margaret," which they boarded and on which they 
returned to New Orleans. There they met with the 
most cordial reception ; people everywhere were curious 
to see Captain Glazier, and anxious to show him their 
ap})reciation of his enter[)rising spirit and the success 
which had attended his last remarkable exploit. The 
press, not only of New Orleans but all through the 
Mississippi Valley, gave glowing accounts of his 
voyage and of the ovation which he received at its 
conclusion. The Mayor tendered him the freedom of 
the city, and the New Orleans Academy of Sciences 
(490) 



NEW ORLEANS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 491 

gave him a public reception, at wliicli resolutions were 
passed recognizing the great results of his expedition, 
and thanking him for the beautiful canoe "*Alice," 
which he had presented to that learned body. 

The following account of this reception is taken from 
the "St. Louis Republican^^ of November twenty- 
eighth, and is presented to the reader because, being 
tlie testimony of an eye-witness, it cannot fail to give 
a clear idea of the manner in which the scientists of 
the city, and the people generally, appreciated Captain 
Glazier and the work which he had accomplished. 

[Correspondence of the Republican.'] 

" New Orleans, November 23, 1881. 
"The termination of the noted and unprecedented 
exploring expedition and canoe trip of the Soldier- 
Author, Captain Willard Glazier, extending from his 
new-found true source of the mighty Mississippi 
River to the Gulf of Mexico, culminated, after one 
hundred and seventeen days' voyage, in a very general 
and complimentary recognition and ovation on the 
j)art of the officials and distinguished citizens of New 
Orleans. In company with Dr. J. S. Copes, Presi- 
dent of the Academy of Sciences, the successful ex- 
plorer was i)resented to his honor, Mayor Shakes- 
pear, and was by him warmly welcomed, and the free- 
dom of the city generously tendered him. In apprecia- 
tive recognition of the hospitality extended him the 
distinguished soldier, author, and explorer, felt it a 
j)leasing as well as an appropriate opportunity to pre- 
sent his beautiful canoe, which had safely carried him 
through his long and perilous voyage, to the New 
Orleans Academy of Sciences. The occasion of the 



492 SWOBD AND PEN. 

presentation and acceptance was one of high order and 
much manifest interest. In ])resenting the canoe Cap- 
tain Glazier tendered the ibllowing letter; 

" ' St. Charles Hotel, ^ 

New Orleans, November 21, 1881. J 
J. S. Copes, M. D., 

President New Orleans Academy of Sciences : 

Dear Sir : — I have just concluded upon the border of the State 
of Louisiana a voyage of observation, exploration, and discovery, 
and as you liave expressed consi(ierable interest in the results of the 
expedition, and manifested a desire to possess the canoe in which 
my explorations were made, I find pleasure in presenting it to your 
honorable society as a souvenir of the voyage and discovery. 

During this canoe journey of over three thousand miles, begin- 
ning at the headwaters of the Mississippi and extending to the Gulf 
of Mexico, I had the satisfaction of locating the source of the Great, 
River which we have traversed, and feel a pride in having cor- 
rected a geographical error of half a century's standing. 

I will not now enter into a detailed account of my explorations 
at the source of the river, but shall take the earliest opportunity of 
transmitting to your secretary a complete history of the voyage, 
which will be issued in book form as soon as the matter can be pre- 
pared for publication. Very respectfully yours, 

WiLLARD Glazier. 

"A special meeting of the Academy of Sciences 
was held at No. 46 Carondelet street, Dr. J. S. Copes, 
president, in the chair, for the purpose of receiving 
from Captain Willard Glazier the handsome cedar 
canoe *Alice,^ with which he navigated the Missis- 
sippi Kiver from Aitkin to the Gulf. 

"By invitation Captain Glazier gave an account of 
his explorations on the Upper Mississippi and espe- 
cially of that section of country beyond Lake Itasca, 
which body of water has hitherto been considered the 
fountain-head of the Great River. 

"Dr. Copes in the name of the Academy thanked 



NEW ORLEANS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 493 

Captain Glazier for his valuable gift, which would be 
higlily prized, and then congratulated the explorer 
upon his contribution to American geograplncal knowl- 
edge, comparing him with De Soto, Marquette, La 
Salle, Hennepin, and Joliet, whose highest fame was 
connected with discoveries relating to the Mississippi. 

*'In the course of his remarks the learned doctor 
said that De Soto penetrated the continent of North 
America in pursuit of gold and accidentally discovered 
the Mississippi. ^larquette, the zealous missionary, 
traversed the river from the mouth of the Wisconsin 
to the mouth of the Arkansas. I^a Salle pursued his 
explorations from the mouth of the Illinois to the 
Gulf, his sole aim seeming to be the conquest of North 
America in the name of the King of France. Henne- 
pin explored but a small section of the stream, extend- 
ing from the mouth of the AVisconsin to 8t. Anthony's 
Falls, while Captain Glazier has made the important 
discovery of its primal reservoir and traversed its en- 
tire length from source to sea. 

" The men^)ers of the Academy listened with great 
interest to Captain Glazier's graphic history of his dis- 
covery, and also to the intellectual and historical ad- 
dress of Dr. Copes. 

*'Dr. J. R. Walker then offered the following reso- 
lutions : 

Resolved i — That the thanks of this Academy are clue and are 
hereby tendered to Captain Willard Glazier for the donation of his 
beautiful canoe "Alice," and for the brief narrative of his explora- 
tions at the source of the Mississippi River, and of his voyage thence 
to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Resolved: — That this Academy not only gratefully accepts this 
handsome gift, but promises to preserve and cherish it as a souvenir 
of Captain Glazier's high qualities as an explorer and contributor 
to the increase of American geographical knowledge. 



494 &WORD AND PEN. 

"Mr. H. Dudley Coleman moved as an amendment 
thereto that a copy of the resolutions be appropriately 
written and framed, and presented to Captain Glazier, 
and that a committee of three be appointed to prepare 
the same in accordance therewith. 

"The resolutions as amended were unanimously 
adopted, when Dr. Copes appointed as the committee, 
Messrs. Coleman, Walker, and Blanchard. 

"The suggestion made by Mr. Coleman that the 
canoe remain at the arsenal of the Battalion Washing- 
ton Artillery until such time as the Academy prepare 
a suitable place for it was acceded to. 

"At the conclusion of tlie meeting Mr. Coleman es- 
corted Captain Glazier to the Washington Artillery 
Arsenal, and introduced hinv to Colonel J. B. Richard- 
son, commanding the battalion, who accepted for the 
command the care of the canoe, and extended to Captain 
Glazier the hospitalities of the battalion during his 
stay in the city. Colonel Richardson and Mr. Cole- 
man then took him around the arsenal and showed 
him its attractive features.'^ 

It will be readily seen from this letter that the 
members of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences 
were much impressed with the importance of the dis- 
covery Captain Glazier had made. The resolutions 
which they passed were afterwards handsomely framed 
and sent to him at St. Louis.. 

Among the many courtesies which were tendered the 
Captain during his stay in New Orleans, he perhaps 
felt most deeply the royal welcome which was given 
him by the Old Guard of the Louisiana Tigers. In 
his own words " they could not do too much '^ for him, 



NEW ORLEANS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 495 

and when we remember that only twenty years have 
passed away since these brave men and the gallant 
Union soldier fought on opposite sides on the battle- 
fields of Virginia, it cannot be wondered at that he 
was much impressed with the cordiality of his recep- 
tion by his former foes. 

At the headquarters of the Washington Artillery, 
too, he found many who as Confederate officers and 
soldiers had formerly been his opponents in the war, 
but nothing could exceed the heartiness of their wel- 
come and the good-fellowship which they displayed. 
They showed him their old battle-flags still religiously 
kept, but a moment afterwards pointed to the Stars and 
Stripes which occupied a prominent position in the 
room. Altogether Captain Glazier found it difficult to 
realize that there had ever been other than the most 
cordial feeling between the North and South, and this as 
much as anything else tended to make his stay in New 
Orleans a pleasure which he will long remember. 



CHAPTER XLIl. 

BEFORE THE MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Return to St. Louis. — Lecture at Mercantile Library Hall. — Bril- 
liant audience. — The Missouri Historical Society present.— 
Eloquent introduction by Judge Todd. — " Pioneers of the Missis- 
sippi." — Presentation of the " Itasca " to the Historical Society. — 
Remarks of Captain Silas Bent on accepting the canoe. — Con- 
gratulations of the audience. — Closing scene. 

ON leaving New Orleans Captain Glazier returned 
to St. Louis, having an engagement there to de- 
liver his lecture on the ^'Pioneers of the Mississippi." 
He had been unable to remain long enough fof this 
purpose during his previous visit to the city on his 
way down the river, as winter was rapidly approaching 
and it was expedient to reach the Gulf as soon as pos- 
sible. Therefore, as many were anxious to hear a 
lecture which had been so highly spoken of by the 
press of other cities, he had been induced to return 
with this object in view. 

He was also desirous of donating one of his canoes, the 
"Itasca," to the Missouri Historical Society in recog- 
nition of the unbounded hospitality he had enjoyed at 
the hands of the citizens of St. Louis, and it was de- 
cided that the donation of the canoe, a beautiful speci- 
men of the Rob Roy pattern, should take place on the 
niglit of the lecture. 
(496) 



MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 497 

Accordingly, on the evening of January fourteenth, 
a lar2:e audience consisting of niembers of the Histori- 
cal Society, Academy of Sciences, clergy, officers and 
teachers of the public schools, and the various boat 
clubs of the city, assembled at Mercantile Library Hall 
to listen to his thrilling lecture on the pioneer ex- 
plorers of the Mississippi, and to witness the presenta- 
tion ceremonies. 

At eight o'clock, Captain Glazier, accompanied by 
Judge Albert Todd, an eminent lawyer, and vice- 
president of the Historical Society, made his appear- 
ance on the platform, and, after the storm of applause 
which greeted their entry had subsided. Judge Todd 
stepped to the front and introduced the lecturer in the 
following terms: — 

Mark Twain wrote that in his oriental travels he visited the 
grave of our common ancestor, Adam, and as a filial mourner he 
copiously wept over it. To me, the grave of our common ances- 
tress Eve would be more worthy of my filial affection; but in- 
stead of weeping over it, I should proudly rejoice by reason of her 
irrepressible desire for knowledge. She boldly gratified this desire, 
and thereby lifted Adam up from the indolent, browsing hfe that he 
seemed disposed and content to pass in the "Garden, and gave 
birth to that spirit of inquiry and investigation which i^<leveloping 
and elevating their posterity to "man's pride of place - a lit le 
lower tiian the angels," by keeping them ever discontented with the 
status quo, and constantly pressing on to the " mark of their high 
callinc. " beneath the blazing legend " Excelsior." It is the ceaseless 
„nrest°of the spirit, one of the greatest evidences of the soul s immor- 
talitv that is continually contracting the boundaries of the unknown 
in celx^raphv and astronomy, in physics and metaphysics, in all 
their varied departments. Of those pre-eminently illustrating it in 
geography were Jason and his Argonauts ; Columbus De Gama 
.ndML';ilan ; De Soto, Marquette and La Salle; Cabot and Cook; 
Spek\ Baker, Livingstone and Franklin; and our own Ledyard, 
Lewis Clarke, Kane, Hall and Stanley. And this evening will ap 



498 SWORD AND PEN. 

pear before you another of these irrepressible discontents who would 
know what is still hidden at any risk or privation. 

Impelled by this spirit of enterprise in search of Trntli, Captain 
Willard Glazier has discovered, at last, the true source of our grand 
and peerless river, the " Father of Waters," down which he has 
floated and paddled in frail canoes, a distance of more than three 
thousand ndles, to its mouth in the Gidf of Mexico. One of these 
canoes is nov/ placed here in your view, and will be presented to- 
night by its navigator to our Historical Society. 

Nearly two hundred years ago La Salle discovered the mouth 
of tile Mississippi, yet only now in this year of grace, 1881, was as- 
certained its true fountain source. 

This, the latest achievement of Captain Glazier, is only in the 
natural course of his antecedents. Born as late as 1841, he has al- 
ready gone through the experiences of the Adamic labors of a tiller 
of the soil, the hard toils of the student and of the successful teacher ; 
of the dashing and brilliant cavalry officer in the Union army 
through the whole period of our late war, from its disastrous begin- 
ning to its successful ending; of the sufferings of capture and im- 
prisonment in the notorious " Libby " and other prisons, and of a 
daring and perilous escape from their cruel walls ; of an adventur- 
ous tourist on horseback through the most civilized and savage por- 
tions of our continent, beginning with the feet of his horse in the 
waters of the Atlantic, and ending with their splash in the waters 
of the Pacific. He delivered lectures along his route wherever a 
civilized audience could be collected, and suffered capture by the 
Indians, with all its sensational romance and hideous prospects. 

From the material of these antecedents he has written and pub- 
lished several books of singular interest and national value. 

From this brief sketch we would naturally expect to see a stal- 
wart man, massive and powerful in form and muscle. Our concep- 
tion of men of big deeds is that they also are big. But David was 
a stripling when he slew Goliath of Gatii. Napoleon was character- 
ized by the society ladies of the period of his early career as " Puss 
in Boots." Our own Fremont and Eads woidd seem at sight capable 
of only the ordinarily exposed duties of life. Of like physique is 
the sidyect of this introduction. 

Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my pleasant privilege to intro- 
duce to your acquaintance Captain Willard Glazier as the lecturer 
for the eveninji. 



MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 499 

At the close of Judge Todd's introduction, Captain 
Glazier began his thrilling and historic lecture on the 
" Pioneers of the Mississippi," holding the attention of 
all present by the interest of his subject and the elo- 
quence of his delivery. Beginning with De Soto, 
the discoverer of the Great River, he gave an account 
of his early life and adventures, of his ambition to 
found an empire like that of Cortez, and of his arrival 
at the mighty stream in whose waters he soon found 
his final resting-place. 

Marquette, the self-sacrificing missionary, was 
brought vividly before the mind's eye of the hearer as 
the Captain described in glowing terms the zeal 
with which he preached the Gospel to the poor be- 
nighted Indians, and drew a picture with all its 
poetical surroundings of his death and burial in the 
wilderness. 

La Salle came next, pushing onward down the river 
until he planted his triumphant banner on the shores 
of the Gulf of Mexico, and took possession of the 
surrounding country in the name of the King of 
France. Hennepin and Joliet then claimed the at- 
tention of the eloquent speaker, and their exploits 
were clearly and forcibly recounted in graphic lan- 
guage. Other explorers were mentioned, but these 
formed the ground-work of the lecture — a lecture re- 
plete with historical interest, and crowded with such a 
vivid portrayal of incidents that from beginning to 
end one can see as in a panorama the Great River and 
all the mighty men whose fame is indissolubly con- 
nected with the history of its waters. 



500 SWORD AND PEN, 

At tlie conclusion of the lecture the following letter 
to the President of tiie Historical Society was read : 

1310 Olive Street, ^ 
St. Louis, January 14, 1882. j 
Edwin Harrison, Esq., 

President Mi^^sollri Historical Society: 
Dear Sir : — in my recent canoe voyage down the Mississippi, 
h was my good fortune to receive many courtesies at the hands of the 
press, boat clubs, and otiier citizens of St. Louis. This, coupled 
with the fact that you have expressed considerable interest in the 
result of my explorations, inclines me to present you the " Itasca," 
one of the canoes used in the expedition, for the Museum of your 
Society, as a memento of my voyage and discovery. 

During this tour of observation and exploration, extending from 
the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, I 
had the satisfaction of locating the source of the mighty stream 
down which we paddled our canoes to the sea. 

I am not now in a position to give you a detailed account of my 
explorations on the Great River, but shall avail myself of the ear- 
liest opportunity to transmit to your Secretary a complete history 
of the voyage, which will be issued in book form as soon as the 
matter can be put in proper shape for publication. 

Very truly yours, 

Willard Glazier. 

In response to this letter Captain Silas Bent, late of 
the United States Navy, accepted for the Society the 
canoe in these words: 

Captain Glazier: — It becomes my pleasant duty to accept for 
the Missouri Historical Society this beautiful canoe, which has it- 
self become historic by reason of the service it has rendered you. 
It shall be deposited with other treasured relics in our museum. 

I have also to express to you the high appreciation in which 
the Society holds the valuable contributions to geographical knowl- 
edge resulting from your explorations among liie iieadwaters of the 
Mississippi River, and your discovery of the remotest lake that 
contributes to the perennial birth of this hydra-headed "Father of 
Waters," whose Genesis near the Arctic regions gives it a length of 
more than three thousand miles to the tropical gulf, to which it 
bears upon its ample bosom in safety the freightage of an empire. 



MrSSOUJil HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 501 

I desire, too, to thank you for the interesting lecture just given 
us upon the achievements of tlie lieroic old explorers, who have in 
centuries past preceded you in investigations of the characteristics 
of this river. But whilst past investigations have made us familiar 
with the general character of the stream, and the peculiarities of its 
many mouths, yet we know very little of its source ; and should be 
gratified I am sure if you could give us this evening a brief account 
of the circumstances attending your explorations in that direction, 
and of the difficulties you had to encounter in the accomplishment 
of your object. 

In compliance with Captain Bent's request that he 
would give some account of the events connected with 
his discovery of the source of the Mississippi, Captain 
Glazier, greatly to the satisfaction of his large and ap- 
preciative audience, now briefly narrated the leading 
incidents in his voyage of exploration. 

When he had concluded his personal narrative many 
came forward to congratulate him upon his discovery, 
and to express their appreciation of the great work he 
had accomplished. All inspected the "Itasca," which 
occupied a prominent position on the platform, with the 
curiosity human nature invariably feels concerning any 
object closely connected with the fame of a great man 
or daring exploit. The beautiful canoe was afterwards 
placed on exhibition at the rooms of the Historical 
Society. 

'47 



CHAPTER XLTII. 

GREETINGS OF THE VOYAGE. 

An interestitig souvenir. — Greeting at Lake Glazier. — Petition to 
Geographical Societies. — Voice from Aitkin, Gate City of the Up- 
per Mississippi. — Tributes from Brainerd. — Mississippi Pyramid. 
— An old friend at La Crosse. — Greetings at St. Louis. — Senator 
Lamar. — Royal welcome at Bayou Tunica. — Sentiment of Port 
Eads. — Congratulations of tiie officers of the " Margaret." — 
Greetings from New Orleans. — "Fame's triple wreath." — Closing 
remarks. 

SUCH an expedition as Captain Glazier has just 
concluded, inevitably gives birtii to many sou- 
venirs and trophies of the undertaking which are al- 
ways interesting, not only to their immediate recipient 
but also to the public generally ; for a man of his 
calibre is in one sense public property, and as 
such everything associated with any important enter- 
prise of his, is loudly demanded by men of all classes 
without regard to what would be considered its privacy 
under other circumstances. It was the author's good 
fortune to see such a souvenir of the voyage — an album 
in which are inscribed the autographs of eminent men 
from various points along the entire route traversed, 
the first being dated at the source of the Mississippi, 
and the last on the shores of the Gulf; and the thought 
occurred to him that this memento of the latest exploit 
in Captain Glazier's exciting life could not fail to be an 
object of great interest to the reader who had thus far 
followed the soldier, author, and explorer in his event- 
(502) 



GREETINGS OF THE VOYAGK 503 

All and successful career. He therefore obtained per- 
mission to make a few extracts from the large number 
before him, and these Greetings of the Voyage are 
now presented to the public as a fitting conclusion to the 
story of the Captain's voyage from source to sea. 

The first in order is naturally that of Barrett Chan- 
ning Paine, his constant companion during the entire 
voyage. Standing by the discoverer's side at the foun- 
tain-head of the Great River, he wrote : 

Lake Glazier, Minnesota, ■» 

July 22, 1881. / 

My Dear Captain :— From this beautiful lake where the 

mighty Mississippi rises, my best wishes follow you down the 

course of the "Father of Waters" till it mingles its flood with the 

sea. Very truly yours, 

Barrett Channing Paine. 

We next quote a petition of Captain Glazier's com- 
panions to the Geographical Societies of the country, al- 
though it is not found in the album. It was published 
in the Missouri '' RepuhUcan'' and various other news- 
papers, but being dated Schoolcraft's Island, the first 
stopping place after leaving the source of the river, 
it seems quite naturally to follow the greeting of Mr. 

Paine: 

Schoolcraft's Island, -i 

Lake Itasca, July 22, 1881. / 

To Geographical Societies: 

We the undersigned companions of Captain Willard Glazier, in 
his voyage of exploration to the headwaters of the Mississippi, are 
fully convinced tiiat the lake discovered- by him and claimed as the 
head of the river, is beyond question the source of the " Father of 
Waters." 

The privilege of bestowing a name upon the new discovery having 
been delegated to us, we hereby name it Lake Glazier in honor of 
the leader of the expedition, whose energy, perseverance, and pluck 



504 SWORB ASD PEN, 

carried us through many difficulties, and brought us at last to the 
shores of this beautiful lake which is the true source of the Great 
River. 

We earnestly petition all Geographical Societies to give it that 
prominence which has heretofore been accorded to Lake Itasca, and 
to which it is justly entitled as the primal reservoir of the grandest 
river on this continent. 

[signed.] 
Barrett Channing Paixe, "] 

Indianapolis, Indiana. 
George Herbert Glazier, [ ^^^^^ Companions, 

Chicago, Illinois. j 

Moses Lagard, 
Che-no-wa-ge-sic, 
Sebatise Lagard, 

Leech Lake, Minnesota. 



Interpreter 
and Indian Guides. 



The inhabitants of Aitkin, the first town of impor- 
tance on the Upper Mississippi, took great interest in 
the expedition, and did all they could to show their 
appreciation of the intrepid explorer. The following 
is from the pen of Warren Potter, one of the pioneer 
citizens of the place : 

Aitkin, Minnesota, | 
August 15, 188L ) 
Captain Willard Glazier: 

As you float in your birch canoe upon the bosom of the " Father 
of Waters" toward the sea, remember Aitkin, the Gate City of the 
Upper Mississippi. Yours very truly, 

Warren Potter. 

Brainerd, situated at the point Avhere the Northern 
Pacific Railroad crosses the Mississippi, is a thriving 
town with a population of from five to six thousand, 
and has the honor of possessing the first news})aper 
encountered in the descent of the river. This 
paper, the Brainerd "Tribune,'^ exhibited much cor- 



GBEETiyaS OF THE VOYAGE. c05 

dial interest in Captain Glazier and his daring explor- 
ations, and from time to time published accounts of 
the voyage. The autographs of its editor, Arthur E. 
Chase, and associate editor, A. \Y. Frater, who is an 
ardent admirer of the soldier-author's spiritai writings, 
are both found in the album, as is also that of Chauncy 
B. Sleeper, district attorney for the county, who in- 
trodnceii him to the first audience before whom he 
delivered his lecture on the " Pioneers of the Mis- 
sissippi.'' 

Dear CAPTArs" : — That vour voyage down the Great " Father 
of "Warers'* may be fraught with experiences both pleasant and 
profitable, and that your undertaking may prove a worthy epoch in 
American history are the wishes of Your sincere friend, 

-liiTHVR E. Chase. 
Braixerd. Minnesota, 
Auffust 19, ISSl. 

CAPTA^^' WiLLARD Glazier : 

May your future literary productions prove as good as those 
written in the past, and may succesa attend you forever. 

Very truly yours, 

A, W. Frateb, 
Braixerd, Minnesota, 
Au^uM 19, 1S81. 

To Captain Willard Glazier: 

The best wishes, the highest culture, and most honest purposes 
attend thee, and be thy constant coopagnons de voyage, 

Chauncy B. Sleeper, 

Brainerd, August 19, ISSl. 

A. F. Story, district attorney for Benton County, 
indicates in a very grnphic manner the position Cap- 
tain Glazier occupies in the distinguished line of Mis- 
sissippi explorei*s; 



506 SWORI) AND PEN, 

The Mississippi Pyramid, 



DE SOTO. 

MARQUETTE. 

LA S A L L R 

HENNEPIN. 

a- n. ^^ z I E I^. 

Little Falls, Minnesota, Very truly yours, 

Au^mt 20, 1881. A. F. Story. 

At St. Cloud Judge L. A. Evaus introduced Captain 
Glazier to his audience on the evening of his lecture in 
that city, and wrote as follows in the album : 

St. Cloud, Minnesota, •» 
August 23, 1881. J 
To Captain Glazier: 

May your life-voyage and your contemplated voyage to the mouth 
of the "Father of Waters" be pleasant and profitable. 

Yours truly, 

L. A. Evans. 

Mr. Samuel E. Adams, whose patriotic greeting to 
the brave navigator we quote next, is the editor of the 
Monticello ^^Times/^ and was one of the early pioneers 
in that part of Minnesotn. 

Monticello, August 24, 1881. 
Love of one's country is always commendable, and may your 
labors in its defence in the past and its development in the future 
be crowned with imperishable renown. 

Very truly yours, 

Samuel E. Adams. 
To Captain Willard Glazier. 



GREETINGS OF THE VOYAGE. 507 

The first man to welcome Captain Glazier at La 
Crosse was Pearce Giles, an old acquaintance whom he 
haci known for many years in the East. Mr. Giles 
tenders his congratulations in these words : 

My Dear Captain : — I congratulate you on your important dis- 
covery of the true source of tlie Mississippi — a discovery which must 
associate your name forever witli the " Fatlier of Waters." The in- 
telligence, earnestness, pluck, and persistence you have displayed in 
this and numerous other ways, are such as to give you a place 
among the great Americans who have not lived in vain for their 
country. Always sincerely yours, 

Pearce Giles. 

La Crosse, Wisconsin, 

September 11, 1881. 

At Davenport, Iowa, Captain Glazier had the pleas- 
ure of again meeting Colonel P. A. J. Russell, city 
editor of the ^^ DemocraV^ This gentleman had been 
the first to greet him on his arrival in that city during 
his journey across the continent in 1876, and it was 
with much cordiality that he now shook hands with 
the Ca[)tain and congratulated \\\m upon the success of 
his latest expedition. But we will let him express his 
sentiments in his own language: 

Davenport, on the Mississippi, y 

September 25, 1881.1 
To Captain Glazier: 

Safety and success — thus far 

Adown til is mighty stream ; 
May heaven guard your progress still 

And grant fulfilment of your dream. 

Very truly yours, 

P. A. J. Russell. 

While at Bellevue Captain Glazier was entertained 
most agreeably by W. O. Evans, editor of the Belle- 



508 SWORD AND PEN. 

vue ^' Republican y^^ who welcomed him on his arrival, 
and launched his canoe when he resumed his voyage. 
He seemed greatly interested in the Captain's explora- 
tions, and expressed his interest in this manner: 

Dear Captain: — That health, wealth, success, and perpetual 
youth may attend you in all your grand schemes and enterprises 
through the voyage of life, is the wish of your new-made friend, 

Bellevue, Iowa, W. O. Evans. 

September 18, 1881. 

The ^^ Post-Dispatch j'^ one of the leading newspapers 
of St. Louis, was foremost in publishing accounts of the 
explorer's voyage from the time he left the headwaters 
of the Mississippi until he reached the Gulf, and 
therefore the autograph of its editor. Colonel John A. 
Cockerill, is of special interest: 

The ^^ PoM-Dispatch,^' sailing on a prosperous sea, sends greeting 
and good wishes to Captain Glazier and all daring navigators. 
St. Louis, Missouri, John A. Cockerill. 

October 8, 1881. 

Thomas E. Garrett, on the staff of the ^^ Republican " 
inscribed the following poetic tribute: 

On land and water — staunch and true, 

You steer and paddle your own canoe, 

Strong arm, brave heart, will pull you through. 

Very truly yours, 

Thomas E. Garrett. 
Missouri Republican Office, 

St. Louis, October 14, 1881. 

We next quote from the pen of General Charles H. 
Sargent, a veteran correspondent of the Cincinnati 
*^ Enquirer. ^^ He met Captain Glazier in St. Loui*, 
and was inuch interested in the success of his expedi- 
tion : 



GREETINGS OF THE VOYAGE. 509 

My Dear Captain Glazier: 

Brains and nerve well directed insure honor, esteem, and merited 
succes?. Long may you live to enjoy as well as add to your literary 
at d other well-earned laurels, and continue successfully to "paddle 
your own canoe" to a final harbor and home of bliss. 

Charles H. Sargent. 

St. Louis, October 15, 188 L 

The editor of the Helena '^ Yeomcm " writes : 

Captain Glazier : — May your present voyage down the great 
Mississippi redound to your credit, and add to the high honors you 
liave already won. W. L. Morris, 

Helena, Arkansas, 

''Yeoman'' Office. October 22, 1881. 

J. J. Flahift, Superintendent of Puhlie Instruction 
at Helena, greets the daring navigator in tiiese terms : 

"Nothing great is lightly won, 
Nothing won is lost ; 
Every good deed nobly done, 

AVill repay the cost. 
Leave to Heaven in humble trust 

All you will to do," 
But, to reach the Gulf, you must 
Paddle your own canoe. 
Helena, Arkansas, J, J. Flahift. 

October 26, 1881. 

At Natchez Captain Glazier had the pleasure of 
hearing Senator Lamar deliver a political speech, and 
was afterwards introduced to him at the hotel where 
hoth were registered. Lamar seemed much interested 
in the Captain's explorations, and so signifies in his 
autograph : 

Glad to have met yon, and I leave with you my best wishes for 
the success of your undertaking. L. Q. C. Lamar. 

Natchez, Mississippi, 

Sovonber 3, 18S1. 



510 SWORD AND PEN. 

Bayou Tunica will always be held in pleasant re- 
membrance by Captain Glazier, for he was there most 
hospitably received and entertained by John J. Winn, 
a prosperous merchant and planter. Mr. Winn in- 
sisted upon his remaining with him for two days, dur- 
ing the progress of a violent storm which rendered 
the river un navigable, and every effort was made to 
make the time pass agreeably. His greeting to the 
explorer is short but to the point : 

Welcome to Tunica. 

May your voyage to the Gulf be a pleasant one. 

Yours very truly, 

John J. Winn. 
Bayou Tunica, La., 

November 5, 1881. 

Mr. V. U. Lefebre, one of the wealthiest sugar 
planters of Louisiana, greets the Captain in French, 
the tongue of his mother country : 

Cher Capitaine: — J'espere que votre voyage au Golfe sera 
agrfeable que vous garderes un bon souvenir de la Louisiane. 

Votre sincere, 

V. U. Lefebre. 
Eliza Plantation, 

November 9, 1881. 

The inhabitants of Port Eads, the terminal point of 
the voyage, displayed, if possible, a more vivid interest 
;n the expedition than those of any other town along 
the river, for here it was that the goal was reached, 
and the Captain's daring and hazardous undertaking 
placed beyond the reach of failure. Some description 
has already been given of the triumphant manner in 
which the arrival of the ^'Alice" at the Gulf was pro- 
claiaiet] by the people, and the following lines of F. 



GREETINGS OF THE VOYAGE. 511 

C. Welschaus, one of its citizens, expresses in all prob- 
ability the general sentiment of Port Eads : 

To THE Discoverer of Mississippi's Source: 

May all your undertakings prove as successful as this one, 

F. C. Welschaus. 
Port Eads, La., November 15, 1881. 

This kindly wish of Mr. Welschaus in reality con- 
cludes the greetings of tiie voyage proper, but when 
Captain Glazier returned to New Orleans, and after- 
wards to St. Louis, others were added to the number, 
some of which are of such interest that the author 
takes pleasure in quoting them. 

The first in point of time was written by the officers 
of the steamship " Margaret," on board of which Cap- 
tain Glazier steamed back to New Orleans. 

On board Steamship "Margaret." -i 
November 16, 1881. / 
To Captain Willard Glazier: 

We congratulate you upon the successful completion of your 
great undertaking, and ask you to accept the following as our 
sincere wish and fervent prayer : 

" May your bark of mortality 
Glide down the Stream of Time, 
And land at last at that glorious haven 
Where nothing reigns supreme, 
But joy, health, prosperity, and happiness." 
John Otteson, 

Commander. 
Richard Hunter, Albert J. Schlesinger, 

Chief Officer. Purser. 

While in New Orleans Captain Glazier had an op- 
portunity to listen to a sermon by Reverend B. M. 
Palmer, an eminent clergyman of that city. The Cap- 
tain afterwards had the pleasure of meeting Dr. 



512 SWORD AND PEN. 

Palmer, who subscribed this beautiful and poetic wish 
in the alburn : 

Captain Glazier: — May your exploration of the Mississippi 
from its source to its uioutli be typical of your voyage of life, as it 
rolls with its swelling flood into the bosom of God. 

Yours in the faith of the Gospel, 

B. M. Palmer, 
Pastor First Presbyterian Church. 
New Orleans, La., 

November 22, 1881. 

H. Dudley Coleman, a member of the New Orleans 
Academy of Sciences, and also of the Washington 
Artillery, extended many courtesies, although, as a 
cavalry officer in the Confederate army, his command 
had frequently been opposed to that of the Union 
soldier on the battle-fields of Virginia. His Southern 
gallantry probably induced him to adopt the following 
amusing method of congratulating the explorer on the 
success of his expedition : 

To Captain Willard Glazier: 

Referring to your long, long float 

In "Alice," that light, pretty boat, 

The strangest thing to rae is this, 

You made the trip without a viissf 

Which proves you must have been quite clever, 

Yet "Miss." stands sometimes for the river 

Mississippi. Ah ! Don't you see? 

There's no use, " Cap " — it cannot be ; 

Men seldom have made a success 

Of anything — that's grand — unless 

The ladies join or take a hand ; 

Madam or Miss — water or land. 

Yours with hearty congratulations, 

H. Dudley Coleman. 
Few Orleans, La., 

Foi^mber 2o, 1881. 



GREETINGS OF THE VOYAGE. 51 3 

Albert G. Blancbard, also a member of the New 
Orleans Academy of Sciences, and formerly a briga- 
dier-general, C. S. A., shows his appreciation of the 
explorations which Captain Glazier had successfully 
completed in these terms: 

I congratulate you on your successful exploration of the head- 
waters of the Mississippi River. Your name will always be hon- 
ored with that of Robert Cavalier de la Salle, the discoverer of the 
outlet of this river as you are of its source. 

Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
Albert G. Blanch ard, 
New Orleans, Deputy City Surveyor. 

November 22, 1881. 

We next quote from the pen of Dr. J. S. Copes, the 
learned President of the New Orleans Academy of 
Sciences. Dr. Copes manifested an intense interest in 
the results of Captain Glazier's expedition, and en- 
deavored by every method within his power to show 
the high estimation in which he held the intrepid ex- 
plorer : 

Captain Glazier: — J con»ratulate you upon the successful 
completion of your search for the primal reservoir of the Missis- 
sippi River. It would be well for the country to erect before the 
view of its youths and young men two monuments, three thousand 
miles asunder — the one at the source, the other at the mouth of the 
great river of North America — upon which should be chiseled 
"Enterprise, Courage, Faith, Fortitude, Patriotism, Philanthropy," 
leaving to posterity the selection of an illustrative name to be en- 
graven on each one when events shall have pointed conclusively to 
the benefactors most worthy of this honor. 

With great respect, 

Yours very truly, 

J. S. Copes, 
President New Orleans Academy of Sciences. 
New Orleans, 

November 19, 1881. 



514 SWORB AND PEN. 

AVe will conclude this pleasing souvenir of the voy- 
age by quoting the sentiment of Judge Albert Todd, 
who, it will be remembered, introduced Captain Gla- 
zier to his audience at St. Louis upon the occasion of 
his lecture on the " Pioneers of the Mississippi," and 
the presentation of the "Itasca" to the Missouri His- 
torical Society. Judge Todd is one of the oldest and 
most reputed citizens of St. Louis, and showed an es- 
pecial appreciation of the Captain's endeavors to in- 
crease the geographical lore of the Mississippi River : 

To Captain Willard Glazier — Greeiing : 

With triple wreaths doth Fame thine head now crown ; 

The patriot-Soldier's, in fierce battles won ; 

The "Pen's," than the ''Sword's," mankind's greater boon; 

The bold Explorer's finding where was born 

The rivers' King, till now, like Nile's, unknown. 

May years of high emprise increase thy fame, 
And with thy death arise a deathless name. 

Albert Todd, 
Vice-President Missouri Historical Society, 
St. Louis, January 14, 1882. 



The career of Captain Glazier up to the present 
time affords much food for thought and speculation. 
His life is pre-eminently a life of success, and is a bril- 
liant example of what can be accom})lished by the aid 
of an indomitable will and untiring energy. Although 
his early advantages of education and position were of 
a most ordinary description, nothing he has ever at- 
tempted failed, and none of his successes have been 
mediocre. As a soldier he rose from a ])rivate to the 
rank of captain, and was known as one of the bravest 
officers on the field — one of the best disciplinarians in 
camp : as an author his works are found in nearly every 



^ 



^ 



i 



GENERAL REMARKS, 615 

home In the land, and are read with interest by people 
of all ages, classes, and conditions of life; as a lect- 
urer, the press has ever spoken of him in the kindliest 
and most favorable terms ; as an equestrian traveler he 
accomplished a feat never before attempted, and prob- 
ably knows more about the wide stretch of country 
through which he passed than any other man living; 
as a navigator and explorer he not only discovered 
what had baffled the most determined of all previous 
explorers, the source of the Mississippi River, but also 
paddled his own canoe down the entire course from its 
fountain-head to the Gulf of Mexico. He has tiien 
unquestionably succeeded in all that he has undertaken ; 
and, as all men aim at success, the query naturally 
arises, why is it that \yillard Glazier occupies so high 
a position in each of his many fields of labor? The 
answer in all probability lies in the fact that while 
many men have ambition, few have the untiring in- 
dustry, the calm perseverance, the determined will, and 
unfalforing faith in themselves to grasp and hold the 
objects of that ambition. Captain Glazier has never 
known what failure means, and recalling the events of 
his life as portrayed in this narrative, now drawing to 
a close, we can understand why this is true. Unceas- 
ing labor seems to have been his motto. As soon as 
he had pursued one path of industry or research until 
it could lead him no further, he sought out and trav- 
ersed another with unexampled patience and unflag- 
ging zeal. What wonder in the light of such energy 
that unqualified success has crowned his arduous 
efforts ! 

His career affords an example which all men would 
do well to reflect upon and imitate. May the Youth 



^16 SWOJiD AND PEX. 

of America, by the contemplation of a life still young 
and yet so fraught with mighty deeds, be especially in- 
spired with the ambition to follow in his footsteps, and 
a will to "carve with many a sharp incision,^^ from 
the shapeless block which lies before each, the rouuded 
outlines of a strong and noble character. 



